If you’ve followed long enough, you know I take the last day of every year to recap the significant events we’ve experienced. I usually comb through the photos from the last twelve months and make one collage photo for each month. I remember last year, for just ONE month, I did two collage photos, because we had finished redoing the camper, and I wanted to show that as well. It seemed absurd at the time to need TWO collages to depict one month. But friends, we’re just going to forget what used to be the norm, and we’re going to laugh at the mountain of photos on this years recap post. Deal? Deal.

Please be patient with me.

January

The year kicked off with struggle. It began with doctors appointments and anxiety. The push to figure out where Brady’s struggles were stemming from was on, it was pretty all consuming. We celebrated any normal we could get our hands on, but there was an undeniable feeling that change was looming. Its also important to note that January kicked off Rowan being on Melatonin. We were all on a hunt for wellness!

February

This is without question our biggest month this year. The busiest. The life changiest. It started out with Brady still working, which felt like an insignificant picture at the time, but is huge now. Brady went for his first MRI on February 3rd. We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on the 7th. He had his second MRI on the 8th. On the 9th, we met who would become Brady’s neurosurgeon, who showed us that Brady had a large tumour growing in his spinal cord. February 10th Brady went in for live saving, life altering surgery. Boom boom boom boom. One after another. A whirlwind if there ever was one.

Brady woke up from surgery and knew immediately that he was paralyzed. But the smile on his face was real, as both of us truly believed he might die in surgery. Legs are so secondary to life 💜We celebrated Valentines Day just a few days later in the neuro ward at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon. I would bring him an americano nuevo and he would drink it from flat on his back through a bendy straw. It only took a few days before he was sent to physio, where he was able to transfer from his chair onto a bed and back. This quickly cleared him to leave the hospital and be transferred to City Hospital’s rehabilitation ward. His stay at RUH was eight days.

Brady was placed in a very nice big room with a window overlooking the river. I was welcomed to join in his therapies, and he started walking between the parallel bars. Meanwhile, Rowan celebrated his birthday and had his first haircut! So did Solly, but of course I don’t have a picture to share. Aaaaall the mom fails.

At home, I was single momming it, but with an immense amount of help from my close people. We did devotions and prayers with Brady every night over FaceTime, which was important but a huge challenge considering how much had happened and changed in such a short amount of time. Brady closed February off by suffering a pulmonary embolus, and almost dying. What. A. Month.

March

My mental health took a pretty hefty nosedive in March. Thanks to Brady’s blood clot incident, he went on blood thinners and had the pleasure of a three days nose bleed. My cute mom moved in to take care of us all at home, and to effectively take over while I went to the hospital every single day. The BEST part of March was when Brady was scheduled to meet an occupational therapist at home, and the taxi missed the memo and left him here. His quick pop-in turned into longer visit of a few hours, where he even joined us for supper It was the BEST.

March was not without its challenges. We were given the ugly diagnosis of stage four cancer. That did not deter Brady, however, and his therapies continued. He graduated out of the parallel bars and moved to walkers, and finally, forearm crutches! He was SO much happier with the crutches than the walker! Stairs was the final win of March, which was something he desperately wanted to try that felt out of reach. It wasn’t 💜

April

Brady was cleared to go outside in April!! This was a HUGE deal! We went on our first outing to Brainsport, to get some shoes that fit Brady’s brace in them. It was also the first time we ran into someone we knew who had no idea of the changes in our lives. It was entertaining in the moment and then utterly heartbreaking after. I’ll never forget it. With Brady’s outside time, we were able to casually wind up at a nearby park at *gasp* the same time as our kids!! So that was a beautiful open door. It was hugely relieving to see Brady with the kids 💜See how Laela has “crutches” and Rowan has a “wheelchair?” Also in April, Cher started taking the kids out on dates, so they would get some more face to face attention. They loved it.

Brady continued to crush his therapies one after the other. The FES bike was a regular part of his day, as well as weights and bulking up his arms and chest the best he could, as so much more depends on his upper body now. He broke a lot of therabands during his workouts in his room, lol! But better that than not using them! Also in April, he began radiation treatments. They would taxi him over to the cancer centre five days a week. It was scary and made him so sick.

While Brady was away, we prepared the house the best way we could for his return. And right smack dab in the middle of April, he came home. It was a HUGE celebration!!! Nine weeks he was away. They were long long weeks.

We settled into our normal. HA!! That 🙌 is the biggest lie I’ve told all year! 😆But hey, we got to brush our teeth together. Teach our kids to tie their shoes. Stuff like that. People gifting us a golf cart is not normal, but it did happen also 💜And the crocheting bug bit me HARD. I tried to crochet when Brady was away, but just couldn’t get into it. It sure worked a lot better the moment he got home!

May

Brady began to learn his limits and abilities here at home! We got everything set up for Spring, and I will say the theme of this Spring was DIRT. Goodness it was SO filthy here without grass, and, spoiler alert, we never got there. Ah well. What we did do was complete Brady’s five weeks of radiation!! That was significant and dearly important. He was so uncomfortable for those weeks, but he was granted a month of no treatment after he finished, which helped. Cher gave us a couple of weekends at the lake, just Brady and I, to try and get things set up for our new circumstances. This was a huge gift, and more necessary than we anticipated!

We attended Brady’s first outpatient rehab appointment in May. It was nice, and informative, but also bizarre to be back at the hospital! Our dates have gotten SO weird, haha! Hear me, guys. Dates at the hospital shouldn’t count! Buuuut for now, they do. A hit we took in May was our dishwasher dying. Of all stupid things. But thank goodness, my handy/handi (HA!) husband was home, and we could sort it out together 💜The day it died, someone came over unannounced and gave us $500 in cash. Sooooo that took care of that. God took care of that. Thank you, friends, for listening to God and being good neighbours. We closed the month off by celebrating Solly’s birthday!

June

The weekends at the lake with just Brady were a total treat 💜 We were able to see how Brady would adapt to lake life and how we could adapt it to fit him! We built a nice big level patio! Meanwhile the kids played well and were totally happy at home.

We ran around a lot in June. School was still going so time was split between home and the lake, plus all the appointments! Brady had his first driving assessment, and took his brace in to Saskabilities so many times! Brady started chemotherapy, and did his first round over our first lake weekend with the whole fam jam! It was utter chaos, but we made it! We were very thankful that my mom joined us 💜

Because there wasn’t enough going on, the work kept on kicking at the lake. Brady built us a front step with good sturdy stairs and railings. I helped him a lot, but my rest and relaxation translated into crocheting by the fire. Thats another thing. I got really good at building fires this year. It was my gig, and once I settled into it, I was a master. Not to say there weren’t blistered and slivers and blood and tears along the way. Because there were.

July

Right off the hop in July, we celebrated Waverly’s birthday. She was stylin’. Shortly thereafter, I had a very small procedure where an OB cleared a small tissue septum out of my uterus. Cher took me there and back 💜 Back to the lake, Brady built us a beautiful firewood stand, and Solomon learned to ride a bike!

The kids went to day camp at Kinasao for the first time ever, and they loved loved LOVED it! Meanwhile, Brady and I spent our days with Wavy, feeding her cheeseballs like they were going out of style. She was a fan.

This little beauty, Cher, had a birthday in July, so she joined us up at the lake for the day and we ate appies off the barbecue. Win! Brady and I worked HARD and got our deck shaded before the end of the month, and we closed July off with my birthday. I won’t lie, I have never felt older 😆

August

August kicked off with Brady’s SIXTH MRI! It was their effort to see if anything had changed since his radiation treatments. Not especially significantly, but noteworthy, we discovered Wavy had enough hair for a palm tree pony! Woot! We continued our time at the lake, and Brady built our cook nook! My mom celebrated a birthday in August, so she came and spent some time with us out there! We are certainly fortunate to have people who are willing to come our way so often 💜

Work is never done, so we continued our lake projects and got our site levelled out really nicely. In between lake stays, Brady officially got his drivers license! This was an ugly crying kind of event. Independence!!! Dekker celebrated his tenth birthday at the lake, and we wrapped up our beautiful lake season shortly thereafter.

September

Back to reality! As if we ever left, haha! But you know what I mean. We winterized the campsite and entered school mode! Four of the kids had their token “first day of school pictures” taken, though on different days. We settled into the reality of having – wait for it – ONE KID every other day!!

September was also the first time we talked publicly about needing to move. The hunt for solutions began (aaaand continues, lol) Brady and both dove into the things we are excited and passionate about! And we wrapped the month with Laela’s birthday!

October

This was really a month for settling into life. I think I’ve said that a few times, but nothing was shockingly new in October. We just lived. We set up a beautiful yarn wall for me 😍Wavy got her first big girl bed. Cher and I celebrated our four year friendaversary 💜 Brady celebrated his birthday, which was also exactly six months since he got home from the hospital. We got our basement ceiling done, sealing off the official finishing of our home! And also noteworthy, I BAKED for the first time in AGES! This is important to add in here because it was extra, and it still happened! Woop!

November

This month was a cold slap in the face, when it became immediately clear that winter was upon us, and that I was on the hook for so much more than I was used to. I know that sounds extra “poor me” but truly, it was a hard griefy moment of time for me. We had our first big snow early November. Brady worked to figure out how to be outside and effective. He managed to get into the backyard and take apart the trampoline. Meanwhile, November was full of crocheting. Like FULL of crocheting. I got some big orders out the door, which had me feeling capable and accomplished. I truly hope there are more orders to come. Probably the most important thing in November to note was that Brady WORKED! As in out of the house, with another guy, on a job site! He painted, and he LOVED it!

December

Its been a full month of grief and excitement, memory making and emotion organizing! With our friend, Carrie, we played our first gig in a full year! It was incredible! Brady was nominated to the Maker Community Project out of NJ, and was chosen to be the recipient of some amazing help, resources, and gifts that will get him set up to move forward as a successful, profitable maker. We praise the Lord for Mike, Matt, and the other folks involved! I had a great success in December, also. In my case, this means I finally found an antidepressant that works!! In this month alone, I regained all the weight I lost, I have a real appetite for the first time in several years, I sleep, and I cope. Fewer anxiety attacks means a happier Hailey who is more compatible with life! We set up for Christmas this month, and even made a two hour trip to see some of our dear friends from the lake 💜I did my final count, clocking in at 16 blankets crocheted. And we’re closing the year off wiiiiiiith… car trouble, lol!

I mean 🤷🏼‍♀️all things considered, at the very least, this year was eventful like none other! God has remained faithful, and has cared for us undeniably all along the way 💜 So we wait eagerly for whats to come, where God will take us, and where we’ll land. If we’ve learned anything this year, its that God knows the outcome. He knew it before we even knew the beginning. We had NO idea at the beginning of the year where we’d be this December, but we’ve come out oddly ahead in some ways.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing us through 2021 together. We eagerly wait to see what 2022 has in store for us!

We trust you, Lord.

We’ve enjoyed a second day with some of our family together for Christmas! We ate really well, enjoyed hyper time and also quieter time, lots of visiting and catching up, and lots of cousin bonding time! Its been incredible.

Conveniently, most of the events have been held at our house. Convenient because its so stinking cold out. Convenient because we have more space for everyone. Convenient because our van won’t start…

*sigh*

We finally admitted defeat after charging the stupid thing overnight, and we accept the fact that the battery is completely pooched. Which is fine. Its old, and everything wears out faster in this cold weather.

Yes, we do have a garage. You’re not wrong.

Except you kind of are nowadays.

I will delve into more details at a later date, but on the subject of admitting defeat, I am actually really happy to say that we have relinquished the garage into a wood shop for Brady 💜He is being blessed backwards and forwards, and suddenly is finding himself in need of space to let his creativity grow, so, at least for now, thats our garage. And naturally, blessings such as these rained down on the coldest week of the year 😆

Sooooo tomorrow I’ll catch a ride to Saskatoon to buy a new battery. Meanwhile, if anyone hears of any wicked deal on vehicle remote starter kit, let us know!

I’d love to post ALL about today. ALL about seeing my sister and her beautiful family for the first time since covid really knocked everything out of whack. ALL about how the kids did so well together. ALL about the presents we opened and ALL about the food we ate.

Yet, after such a beautiful day, my head is throbbing and I need to pack it in early. So rather, I’m going to leave you with the knowledge that today, Wavy called her cereal “yucky charms.” And I really liked it. So I thought maybe you would too.

Who wouldn’t, really? No one can not swoon at that mess of post-ponytail hair and that little crinkled nose. 💜

You guys were all so encouraging after I posted the blankets I made for the kids Christmas gifts. Thank you for that. 💜I am truly happy with how they all turned out. I felt accomplished and content when they were all finished and given.

I tried to look back to see how many blankets I had actually finished, and there were more than I thought! So I figured I’d compile them all in one post 🙂 Enjoy!

I finished two in May. Solly’s, and my first one for Laela that fell apart and had to be completely scrapped. Yes, I’m still counting it, because it was a WHOLE BLANKET!

In June, I finished Wavy’s.

July held Cher’s birthday blanket, which I have virtually no pictures of because I was hiding it from her! But she took one for me 🙂 I also made a beautiful round baby blanket for *shrug* who knows. Some baby. Somewhere. Lol!

In August, I made a blanket for each of my sister.

In September, I finished Rowan’s Christmas blanket, a baby blanket for Cher’s friend, and I also did a stash buster throw that used up a ton of smaller pieces I had from a different project gone bad.

In October, I made Dekker’s blanket, and then made another one for an order, as well as a replica of a blanket I made for Cher last Christmas.

In November, I made a blanket for my doctor. Because she is family, if that was unclear.

Aaaaand in December, I made a blanket for my friend whose name I pulled in the gift exchange, as well as finishing Laela’s blanket. Finally.

So, there it is! Sixteen blankets total! Since May. I couldn’t force myself to crochet while Brady was away, and now, I can’t stop!

Its possible I’m already elbow deep in another one 😆 Stay tuned!

Brady here 👋

I love this tradition we’ve started with the beerdvent calendar each December. It’s an extra little perk I can look forward to during the Christmas season. Each day there’s the anticipation of what the beer might taste like that day. Whether it’ll be surprising and fun or a total fail while I struggle to finish it. Even the total fails are fun. 😁 

Anyways, here’s my notes for this years calendar. Hopefully you can be informed a little and laugh along with us. Enjoy! 🍻

1. Shape Shifter Session Ale w/ candied oranges – 4% – Light Beer – Great kick off,  a light ale, hint of orange, not too fruity. Right up my alley! – 4/5

2. Seven Seas White IPA w/ dulse and sea salt – 5.6% – Strong Beer – A step up from yesterday surprisingly. Crisp and refreshing with a hint of salt. An IPA to be admired! – 5/5

3. Reverberator Belgian Pale Ale w/ brettanomyces – 5% – Beer – another light ale. Not as crisp as the previous two. Slightly heartier with more traditional ale flavour.  – 3/5

4. Honey I’m Home Heather and Honey Ale – 4.7% – Beer – Smooth and sweet, this ale was an easy one to drink quickly. It went especially well with my wife’s pickle nachos. Yum! – 4/5

5. Sonic Fruits Guava Sour – 4.7% – Beer – This is a beer I’d buy a whole case of and drink at the lake. Slightly sour, but not too sweet either. Like a manly lemonade! Ten outta ten!! – 5/5 (Hailey’s note: I really liked this one! Best one of the box, in my opinion! Weird to say I’d drink a whole can of something sour, but it was SO good!)

6. Technocolour Multi-Berry Wheat Ale – 5.7% – Strong Beer – Not my favourite beer of the group. Probably my least favourite actually. Too much berry and not enough beery. – 2/5

7. Little Helper Premium Rice Lager – 5.5% – Beer – a pretty average beer. No crazy flavours. No strong flavour. I’d call it decent. – 3/5

8. Puzzle Piece Barrel Aged Dry Hopped Sour – 6.9% – Strong Beer – that first sip.. Bam!! It’s a shock to the system. Almost too much so. But the flavour is fantastic once you get used to how strong it is. Very tasty. But too sour to drink more than one in a sitting. I wouldn’t buy a whole case. 

9. False Nine West Coast IPA w/ Kveik Yeast – 5.5% – Beer – another very solid IPA. I love IPAs so I enjoyed it quite a bit. Nothing put it over the top though. Nothing stands out. – 4/5 

10. Knighty Night Mexican Hot Chocolate Porter w/ Cacao Nibs, Cinnamon, and Guajillo Chili – 6% – Strong Beer – Much like the name, there was too many things in this beer. I’m not a big fan of porters so this one was weird for me. Tasted a lot like a stout. *shrug emoji* – 2/5 

11. Metro Gnome Barrel Aged Brett Farmhouse w/ Elderflower and Rose – 6.1% – Strong Beer – This is a delightful beer. Tastes like candy in a beerful, manly way. I would buy a whole case of this. – 4/5

12. Mr Needles Fir Pale Ale – 6.1% – Strong Beer – NOT a fan of this one! Felt like I was drinking the water from my Christmas Tree stand about 3 months after Christmas when the tree is turning moldy. – 1/5 (Hailey’s note: It smells right but tastes WRONG! Can a drink sting?)

13. True Sounds Session Bière De Garde w/ Coriander – 5.5% – Smooth and unremarkable. Sometimes it’s nice to have an unremarkable beer. Just decent. Not shocking. One thumb up! – 3/5

14. Illuminatus Hoppy Cerveza w/ Corn – 4.5% – Beer – This is a cross between a light beer like a corona and an IPA. Refreshing and easy to drink. Just a bit hoppy, to make you just a bit happy. – 4/5 

15. (Hailey) Chasing Rainbows Tropical Stout w/ Rapadura Sugar – 6.3% – Strong Beer – Not especially tropical. Some hints of fruit but not as much as I’d like. I probably wouldn’t drink it again but it was alright. – 3/5 (Hailey’s note: We got behind in his beer drinking so I took one for the team. Good not great 🤷🏼‍♀️It was better than his, but he says his was better than mine.)

16. Uncle Gaston Hazy IPA – 6.5% – Strong Beer – A very respectable beer! I love IPAs so this was a win for me. Hazy is a great word to describe it. Kinda washy and full bodied. Would definitely buy again! – 4/5

17. David Hasselhops Double IPA – 8.0% – Strong Beer – IPAmazing! (Say it out loud. 😏) This was a stellar beer! No tricks. No extras. Just flavour. Top Notch! – 5/5

18. Whiteout Tequila Sour White IPA – 7.0% – Strong Beer – Excellent! I loved this one! So smooth it almost doesn’t taste like beer. But not overly sweet at all. Excellent! – 5/5

19. Open Saison Hot Toddy Saison – 6.0% – Strong Beer –  Not a winner for me. It smelled like baby vomit and alcohol and it didn’t taste too far off from that. I got used to it as the meal went on but there was never a redeeming moment. – 2/5

20. Eau Rouge Tart Tomato Ale – 5.0% – Beer –  The flavour was not terrible. It was a mix of tomato juice and Clamato and beer. However, it was the burpiest beer if ever had. Every sip required a large burp with a hint of spit up. Very difficult to get through. -2/5 (Hailey’s notes: Barfity barf barf 🤮 I have nothing against tomato or clamato but this beer was disgusting. I’ve never heard Brady complain about a beer more than this year. His 2/5 is generous. He’s clearly just blocked the memory out. He hated it.)

21. Jingle Jangle Red Velvet Imperial Milk Stout w/ Cocoa, Vanilla, & Lactose – 8.5% – Strong Beer – A very stouty beer. Strong flavour. Not for the faint of heart. Not a beer I’d drink everyday but I would drink it again. – 3/5

22. Yea Old Boy Double Brown Ale – 7.4% – Strong Beer – This one was pretty smooth. Pretty average flavour for a darker beer. Relatively unremarkable. But I would drink it again. – 3/5

23. Yes Mate Belgian Tripel – 7.7% – Strong Beer – another beer I found rather unremarkable. Decent flavour, nothing special. I’d buy this again but not for the novelty. – 3/5

24. Santa Baby Barrel Aged Strawberry Basil Sour – 6.4% – Strong Beer – What a way to end the beerdvent calendar. What. A. Dud. This is one to skip because it is as bad as it sounds. It got worse as it went and I almost couldn’t finish it. Wahwah. – 1/5 

Final notes

I enjoyed this year a lot! There was never a repeat! Always a new beer to try and be challenged with. Years ago I discovered I really enjoy IPAs by being challenged by a beerdvent calendar, so I try to taste every beer with a positive attitude. You never know what you might like. It’s surprising! 😁

I have to say it started with a bang! The first five days were exceptional! Two 5 outta 5s in 5 days, and I was excited for the rest of the case. 

The middle stretch had a handful of duds including Mr Needles. I’ve had that one twice now and I don’t know why I drank it this second time. It doesn’t just taste bad, it’s difficult to drink. I don’t know why I subjected myself to that again. 🤢

The last 5 days or so was a fail. I’m not sure why they planned it like this but there was not a single beer I genuinely enjoyed. You know, a beer you taste for the first time with raised eyebrows and a ‘hmmm, not bad.’ That didn’t happen. Poor planning on their part. Or maybe it’s just my taste. 🤷‍♂️

But I’m still so glad to have had the beerdvent calendar again. I enjoy the experience every year. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys beer of any kind and needs to get out of their comfort zone. 😁 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my distaste for Mr Needles. 😬

Don’t drink that one!! 🍻

I took it upon myself to make the kids each a blanket for Christmas this year. I had considered this early in the year as something I would try. And then all hell broke loose and for the life of me, I could not find the strength within myself to crochet. Not. A. Stitch. The entire time Brady was gone, I could not do it.

You’ve probably noticed, but its become a real passion of mine, and when Brady came back home mid-April, the crochet bug bit hard and I got to it!

It got down the wire, but it got done!!

All five kids got a blanket for Christmas!!

Wavy was the first to open a present yesterday, and she opted for the biggest one. Her blanket. Her reaction was an excellent one to start off with because she was SO happy! She unzipped her bag and shrieked “CROCHETIN’!!!”

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Waverly’s blanket is made using the harlequin stitch in vertical stripes. I used multiple purples (multipurples?) alternating with a sparkly white yarn. I put coordinating tassels along the edges.

Rowan was the next kid to open his blanket. He might be my most sentimental child, and he was so excited to have his blanket. Immediately, he asked if he could swap out his current blanket for his new one.

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I had a very different idea for Rowan’s blanket, and bought a bunch of blues in preparation for it. It wasn’t long into that pattern that I realized the pattern would drive Rowan completely crazy. So I opted for something simpler and softer. Ombre blues, diagonally, using the moss stitch. It has a really thick beefy border all around it.

Solomon was next, and he was one I didn’t think would care too terribly much about it. I was right, hahaha! Not that he didn’t like it, but the excitement of present opening far superseded the excitement around each actual gift. It wasn’t just the blanket. It was everything he opened, lol!

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Solomon’s blanket was the first one I finished. Its made with triangles in horizontal stripes, with one big blue tassel in each corner. I couldn’t tell you why but, for some reason, this blanket just screamed Solly’s name to me.

Dekker was next. At this point, the big kids definitely knew they had one coming, and they had saved their blankets closer to the end of their gifts. Dekker was really excited to check his out!

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Dekker’s blanket is probably my favorite. Its plaid! I made it by crocheting basically a big mesh blanket, and then I made long chains that I weaved in and out of the spaces. There is SO much versatility to this pattern! But I will say, I was commissioned to make this exact blanket for someone else this season, and I believe it went over well! The woven plaid blankets are SO cool!

Laela saved her blanket for last 💜 Which is fitting because hers was absolutely a labour of love. Do you remember my huge crochet blunder? I made her an entire blanket and it all fell apart. So it felt like a lot was riding on her liking her blanket.

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Laela’s blanket was made off of a pattern that I modified off of a pattern I found for a floor mat. I made it in a crochet style called c2c, or corner to corner. Its a specific stitch pattern similar to a block stitch, and I worked off of a graph to know when to change/add colors. It was a painstaking process, and there were about a million ends to tuck in at the end, but we got it done! The day before Christmas!!

While I don’t expect it to happen for long, all five kids wanted to sleep with their new blanket last night. 💜 Aaaaand it was fun to harass them first thing in the morning for pictures! Isn’t that what parents are for?

Crocheting has graduated from a hobby to a real love of mine. I think I might need to step it up and advertise myself a little 😬 If you are in need of some custom crochet, I’m your girl!

Have a cozy day!

As always, I will preface this post by saying I know Christmas isn’t all about the presents. Not at all. But consider that this post is easy, and can be written mostly in advance, so its what you get! Haha!

There was a lot of repetition in this years gifts. I had big goals of doing a full homemade Christmas for everyone, and that just didn’t happen. And thats ok. I let it go a long time ago. I didn’t have all my ducks in a row to even specifically get the categories together. But I’ll tell you what I did get to.

All five kids got a hover ball! They’re supposed to be thrown and come back to you. We haven’t quite mastered the art yet. Mostly we chuck them and they fly around on the floor like cats. But they are well loved and the kids are super excited about them.

All five kids got a hoodie. They are all in the family of that particular style of cozy clothes with the white cuffs with a red stripe. They’re all different shades of grey/blue, and some are zippered while others are pullovers. I’ve scoured Value Villages throughout the year for them to all have something that at least kind of matched.

All five kids got a paid of jammie pants. Dekker got thinner red plaid from a liquidation store. Laela got fleece mermaid scaled pants. Rowan got fleece pants with green, black, and grey triangles. Solly got thinner green plaid pants. Wavy got white cozy fleece lined leggings with a fair isle pattern on them.

All five kids got a book of lifesavers.

All five kids got a Christmas book. Dekker got Geronimo Stilton’s Christmas Carol. Laela got a Christmas themed Narwal and Jelly book. Rowan got a Christmas Robert Munsch book. Solly’s was my favorite – he got a book called Vegetables in Christmas Underwear, and its exactly as it sounds. Wavy got a book called You are My Merry Little Christmas, which is a cute take off of You are My Cupcake, which we really like.

The kids got a new devotional to share. We finished a really great one up earlier this year, and this is a new one by the same author. They are REALLY good devotionals.

Aaaaand all five kids got something else but thats going to be its own post.

I got sparkle balls that Brady ordered secretly earlier this year.

Brady got festive fancy underwear, a beard shaping tool, and a mug that speaks the truth.

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My mom got potholders. I know. Thats it. But she’s nice and understood 💜

And there is more to come, but we have the opportunity to celebrate more in a few days with family 💜

For today, we celebrate the birth of Christ, without which we wouldn’t be so fortunate.

From our family to yours, we wish you the merriest of Christmases. I hope your garbage collector is as cute as ours!

The last couple of days have been rich with celebrating. I’m beating myself up that I don’t have pictures to show, but I was present and occupied, and I think thats ok 🙂

We had our day in Kinistino, and then spent the next evening driving around Saskatoon, looking at lights. And then tonight, Christmas Eve, we spent time with more of our people – those beautiful across the street neighbours I mention so often. They knew my mom was staying with us for a few days over Christmas, and invited her to join. We celebrated Christmas as a family, and it really felt how it should, if that makes any sense at all. Normal. Warm. Friendly. The kids played downstairs, and the rest of us hung out upstairs, prepped food, sipped sangria, and chatted. The conversation flowed easily and the food was unreal. It was a family Christmas gathering at its finest! The kids had the pleasure of opening thoughtful gifts that hit the mark beautifully.

We stayed until just after 7:00, and once everyone was home and unloaded, every one of them was ready for bed. Even Dekker asked to go to bed early. It was just time. We had had such a nice time. It was that good, mushy, content tired feeling. You get it.

As lovely as our evening was, I am absolutely beside myself with exhaustion. I am ready to pack it in for the night. Goodnight, friends. I hope you all have a merry Christmas tomorrow, filled with light and laughter.

Believe it or not, there are just not enough hours in a day! And today is no different! Conveniently, most of the kids are quiet and extra tired today, and those that aren’t are occupied and happy. Wavy and Laela are reading. Solly switches between reading and tracing his hands on paper. Also he does this.

Rowan is making Christmas cards at the island. Dekker went with my mom to help with some grocery shopping. Its SO cool when they age to a point where they can actually help help and its not just an experience, haha!

Brady is in Saskatoon, getting his bloodwork done, as he always does before a chemo cycle. He’s going to kill some time and run a few errands after that, and hopefully be able to pick up his chemo meds before he comes home! And also yarn… Because thats always the case. Don’t worry, he’s not bitter.

Meanwhile, I’m blogging (big duh) and plan to wrap presents and get some addresses together during nap time. I’ve made a big batch of party mix and need to babysit that a little bit this afternoon. I’m also planning out my next crochet project that I am SO excited for! It might be for me. It might be for sale. I’m not sure yet. But stay tuned! Just have to decide the official color palette…

Might have to choose all three, hahaha!

I hope your day is relaxed and productive all at once like mine 💜

We had the blessed opportunity to join some dear friends of ours out at their home for the day. We know them from our lake, and we live far enough away from one another that we haven’t seen each other since this summer. We were honoured to be invited, and eagerly accepted their invitation. We got the kids up this morning in the dark, got them dressed and in the van. We grabbed breakfast at Tims and took the all to familiar drive in their direction. They leave closer to PA, which is the direction of our lake, and we really enjoy that drive! It was only fitting that we drove that way to spend the day with our camp people 💜 

We spent the day chatting about our lives and catching up while the kids played hard as if no time had passed. They just fell right into one another. It did my heart sooooo good. Between the nonstop conversation, we ate delicious meals and yummy treats, and we even spent some time outside! They poured a bit beautiful rink, and we even shared a fire 🔥 which made it feel even MORE like camp! Summer can’t come soon enough! Though today was rich all on its own 😍 

Once we got Solly back into boots, he was actually maybe the best first time hockey player from our family!! I was impressed!

These two have marriage plans in the works since they were informed their spontaneous summer marriage didn’t count 😆

Oreo was a very happy girl! She had a few boundary issues but even the little ones were less nervous around her by the end! Win!

These two ladies were basically attached at the hip. Miss Avery is SUCH a mommy 😍

We sat in the living room after supper, with only Christmas lights on. Their place was lavish with lights, and it felt so comfortable and lovely. We were at total ease, and that isn’t something that one just finds anywhere. Especially in our new circumstances, we haven’t been out in peoples homes yet at all, so this was a bit of a dry run, and it was smooth and simple. 

We are SO grateful for today, with our friends. We anticipate so many more visits over the years to come! Sometimes friendships grow slowly, and sometimes there is an undeniable click. And we have found the latter. 

Thank you Lord 💜

Goodnight friends.