It may be a day or two late, but friends, it is finally officially official that our house iiiiiiiiiis…
SOLD!!!
Between (all of) you and me, it was actually locked down on the 22nd, but I’ve been waiting for the sign to make it public!
We are so unbelievably thrilled that the sale is finally official, and we can truly start making realistic plans for moving into our next (hopefully last) home! Our schedule is TIGHT come the new year, but Christmas comes first. Before the move, we still have festivities, company, and a surgery! But very shortly thereafter, its ON! Aaaaall the packing and hauling! Its going to be bonkers, and a total whirlwind, but we are here for it! 💪
Please, friends, celebrate with us!! We are SO excited and grateful to be on the other side of this whole mess. This house has treated us beautifully, but its not ours anymore. We are so excited to pack up our things and get this house into tip top shape for the new people who are going to love it 💜 Thank you Lord for always providing what we need, when we need it!
If you know, you know! This years calendar hailed from Costco – Kirkland’s BeerAdvent Calendar, with 24 Canadian Craft Beer. Let’s get into it! 🍺
1. XhAle – See Ya Next Tuesday – Dry Hopped Aussie Style C-olsch- 4.6% beer – Hoo haw! This was a great beer to start the Christmas saison. See what I did there? 😉 This was a refreshing radler style sweet treat! Very fruity and a little bitter, it was a crisp delight! This shows potential for an excellent month! – 4.5/5 2. Village – Binge Watch – New Zealand Pale Ale – 4.5% Beer – A solid beer in a flashy can. I wanted to like it a little more than I did but I also wasn’t disappointed. I was adequately satisfied with this pale ale. – 3/5 3. Bow River Brewing – Belgian Wit – 5% – This was an odd one. I couldn’t quite pin down what it tasted like. It reminds me of some kind of dessert. But I couldn’t say what kind. It was made slightly less odd combined with some barbecue chips. This was a take it or leave it beer for me. – 2/5 4. Copper Bottom Brewing Company – Rabble Rouser Red – 5.4% Beer – a very flavourful amber beer. Rich and smooth, this a beer to enjoy with a fat greasy burger. Though it’s probably not a beer I’d buy a whole case of, I definitely enjoyed it. I WOULD drink it again if given the chance. – 3.5/5
5. Bow River Brewing – Highway Country Scottish Amber Ale – 5.2% Beer – This was a very flavourful amber ale with a hint of stoutiness. I very much enjoyed this beer even though I’m not the biggest fan of amber beers. I would recommend this to my beer drinking friends. – 4/5 6. Black Bridge Brewery – White Sage & Rye IPA – 7% Strong Beer – Wow! What a highlight! This beer had nicely crisp flavour. Tart, sweet, and an after zing that’ll make your cavities hurt. I loved this one and so did Hailey. I would highly recommend this one to IPA lovers everywhere. – 5/5 7. Common Crown Brewing Co – Crafted Lager – 4.8% Beer – This is a beer. Done and dusted. It’s not a bad beer. It’s not a great beer. It’s standard and beerish. Not much else to say. – 2.5/5 8. Medicine Hat Brewing Company – Pineapple Sour – 4.6% Beer – This was a winner for sure! On the outer edge of the beertherhood, this was more so an alcoholic fruit punch. Dont get me wrong, it was delicious and I would definitely drink it again. I think Hailey enjoyed it even more than I did. But it was a far cry from the beer of our forefathers. – 4/5
9. Fuggles – Destiny IPA – 6.0% Strong Beer – This was a great IPA! Exactly the flavour and punch that I love in an IPA. However, the can seemed to promise a much more exciting experience. That was a bit of a let down. If the can was little more chill I probably would’ve enjoyed it more. Haha. – 4/5 10. Spearhead Brewing Company – Queen of Wheat – 5.0% Wheat Beer – This was a pretty standard beer on first sip and I thought it was gonna end that way but then the finish had a twist. It tastes like flowers. And not in a pleasant, girly way. But rather in a soapy, slightly offensive way. I’d rather not come across this one again. – 2/5 11. New Level Brewing – Berserker Red – 5.5% Red Ale – This brewer spent too much time on the design of the can and nothing enough on the beer inside. It was a very average beer and being that I like amber ales but don’t love them, I was quite underwhelmed. The can was cool… – 2.5/5 12. Muddy York Brewing Co. – UNA MAS – Mexican style lager – 4.6% Beer – Welp. That was beer. Promises of a light, crisp, fresh beer definitely fell a little flat when I took my first couple sips. It’s beer. Like … coors light. Which I definitely don’t mind when I can buy a case on sale but not what I’d like in a specialty craft beer. Merp. Beer. – 2.5/5
13. Mariner Brewing – Ground Control – American Pale Ale – 4.8% Beer – This was a standard great beer! It’s not secret that I like pale ales. This was a pale ale that I liked. Done. – 4/5 14. Gahan – Sydney Street – Oatmeal Stout – 5.2% Beer – um. Yuck. I couldn’t even finish it. At one point while taking a sip I thought to myself ‘Why am I still drinking this?’ And I didn’t have a good answer. So I stopped. – 1/5 15. Village – Pet Peeve – Italian Pilsner – 5% Beer – Well it wasn’t bad. I normally don’t like pilsners. But this was ok. Um… yeah. It was ok. It had kind of a weird after taste but it subsides rather quickly. It was alright. – 2/5 16. Spearhead Brewing Company – Dollar Bills Premium Ale – 4.9% Beer – This was a pretty decent beer. It had a bit of an over powering, hoppy aftertaste but otherwise I wouldn’t shake my fist at it. Hailey said she wouldn’t drink a whole can, but I would. It was alright. – 3.5/5
17. Brewsters Brewing Company – River City Raspberry Ale – Blonde Ale – 5% Beer – much like our neighbour, Rae, this beer is delight! It’s light and crisp and pretty girly, but I would definitely drink this again. The raspberry flavour is definitely present but not overpowering, but also not underwhelming. It’s lovely! – 4/5 18. Little Brown Jug Brewing – Black Lager – 5% Beer – This dark beer was surprisingly light and refreshing. Not at all like dark beers Ive had in the past. While it wasn’t a home run for me, I still enjoyed every sip, right down to the dregs. I would drink this again if given the opportunity. – 3.5/5 19. Alley Kay Brewing Co – New Moon Hazy Pale Ale – 4.2% Beer – Um… yup! This is an excellent beer! I would 100% buy a whole case of this! A crispy, thick, oddly satisfying pale ale. I really enjoyed this one. I was lucky enough to pair it with some barbecue chips and…. Darn tootin! Good beer! – 5/5 20. Black Bridge Brewery – Milk Stout – 5.3% Beer – I’ve had this one in past years and I’d forgotten how pleasant it is for being a stout. I’m always pleasantly surprised by this one. Almost like a bitter sweet dessert. I really enjoyed this one tonight. – 4/5
21. Tool Shed Brewing Company – Red Rage – Red Ale – 5.6% Strong Beer – This was a pretty alright beer. The can seemed to want me to be more agitated by drinking it but I felt it was smooth and flavourful. With hints of chocolate to finish it off. I was quite happy with this one. Not rage inducing in the slightest. – 3.5/5 22. Cameron’s Brewing – Dry Hopped Lager – 5.2% Beer – A delightfully crisp and refreshing beer! Very heavy on the hops but twas delicious in my opinion. I like hoppy beers. I would drink a case of this if given the chance. Yum! – 4.5/5 23. Bridge Brewing Company – Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale – 5.5% Beer – This was quite a delicious, citrusy beer. I quite enjoyed this one! Though, I probably wouldn’t choose it on a regular basis. Orange isn’t a flavour I want to associate with beer on a normal day. This one passed with moderately flying colours. – 3/5 24. Leduc Brewing Company – de la Crème Vanilla Cream Ale – 6.0% Strong Beer – What a sweet treat this was! The perfect combination of smooth and sweet. A desert beer to finish off the saison in a wonderful way! I think this would be a great one to share with friends at the end of meal. – 4/5
What an excellent beer advent calendar this year! Good choice my love! If I had to pick a favourite, I’d have to say the New Moon Hazy Pale Ale because I’m just a sucker for thick IPAs.
This one had a wide variety of beers and didn’t feel repetitive. But it also didn’t have any memorable failures. I really enjoyed this one! Highly recommended! If you get a chance to try this one next year or perhaps on sale in the new year, take it!! It’s worth it! I’d give it a 4.5/5 overall!
I always give a disclaimer here, so here it is again. I know Christmas isn’t just about gifts. I’m not posting about presents to steal the glory from God, or brag about all the presents we got. And likely, you’ll be able to see that by the simplicity of our Christmas gifts 🙂 I DO share these things to offer ideas for gifts at certain ages, some more practical or simple but still great! I enjoy reading what other people think of for their children, so maybe some of you enjoy it too 🙂 I hope so, anyway!
As many of you know, I follow along with the four categories for Christmas. Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. And then I usually find a group gift or something like that. Its not a hard and fast system, but it does mean I have less broken plastic toys in my house come the new year! We like it, and its what the kids are totally used to. I love some reasonable expectations!
So we’ll start with Dekker. His “want” was a box of motor parts off of Amazon. He loves to tinker, and now he has a jumping off point for some new projects! Stemming off of that, his “need” is a soldering iron and some wire! He has used Bradys for a long time now, so we thought he should have his own. Of course Brady got one too, hahaha! In fact, Dekker came across one of the new ones and seemed a little jealous that Brady was getting one, hahaha! He laughed so hard when he realized he got one! Dekkers item to wear is a cozy camouflage onesie. Also, fresh underwear. And his book to read is a Christmas book written by Gordon Korman, who was my favorite author as a kid, and who Dekker has also come to really enjoy!
Laela is next! Her want is a set where she can make and decorate her own cold cup! She loves crafts, and she likes fancy things, so I think she’ll get a kick out of personalizing a drinking cup 🙂 Her need is a multicoloured lamp for her new room in the new house. She also got underwear and a onesie. Her onesie is bright and neon and pink and purple. VERY Laela. And to read, I got the end of her favorite series, Elizabeth Gail, off of Thriftbooks. She LOVES that series. Its a Christian series that focuses on a young girl who solves mysteries, but she is a foster child, so they also address that aspect of her life! Its pretty interesting to see that so well portrayed in books for kids.
Rowan is third in line! His want is a tool kit, since he’s been actively using one of mine pretty much all year 😅 He needs his own, and now he has it. His need is also a colourful lamp for his next room, which I think he will absolutely love. His wear – underwear and a onesie with gaming controllers all over it. I know for a fact he won’t wear the onesie much because he does NOT like to be hot. Nope nope nope. But I do think he’d feel sad not to have one with everyone else. So I think we’ll let him wear it out in the van a couple of times for some drives, and he’ll like that 🙂 And his book to read is a super action bible devotional! Its graphic novel style! VERY cool for a boy who LOVES Jesus, and is a great reader, but cares more about the pictures, lol!
Solomon is fun to give presents too. He gets SO hyper and jumps all over the place and stops speaking in full sentences, haha! He is overstimulated, but totally happy 🙂 This year, for his want, Solly got a Lego Technics set that builds a snowmobile and a snow crawler/groomer thing. His first Technics set! His need is a cute corgi face glasses stand, so there is no excuse for him to hurl his glasses onto his dresser willy nilly before bed 😅 His wear is like everyone elses – underwear and a onesie. A green plaid onesie with antlers on the hood, to be exact. And his book was a Lego ideas book!!
Waverly is super easy to please in terms of gifts. Her want was a banana Squishmallow, hahaha! She LOVED it. And it only adds to the fun that her loving care buddy from school also got her a Squishmallow! So lots of new soft things for Wave! Her thing she needed was an electric toothbrush and bubble gum toothpaste! She is an AMAZING brusher, so she definitely deserved the upgrade! Her wear – underwear and a onesie that is pink and pompommy, covered in pictures of breakfast foods with faces 😂 VERY her. Aaaaand to please the girly and the masses, her book is a seek-and-find type of book called “Who Farted” where you search the pages for all the farts. She opened it and said “Oh! Its a big book of farts!” She’s a big fan.
The morsel!! It was fun to have a baby to buy for again! It had been a while. Their want this year was a personalized name puzzle that I ordered off of Amazon. It felt important to have something personalized. The baby needs palm crayons, which maybe is a little advanced, but not for long, I don’t think 🙂 I figured I could call it a need, because, development. Their wear is a onesie. It feels more wooly and outerweary than the pajama ones, but it’ll do! And their read was Sandra Boynton’s festive “Moo Baa Fa La La La La.” We love her books, and this one reads SO well, so it was an obvious choice.
The spoonful felt like a last minute addition in a way, but we are HAPPY to have kid #7 on board with us for the season!!! Little Spoony wanted a specific little Lamaze toy that took a surprising amount of work to track down! My own fault, haha! They needed some sippy cups. They wear a cute soft little hooded onesie, and they read a book called “Snow” by Leslie Patricelli. If you haven’t seen her books, they are very young but VERY good! My kids love the tubby book because they talk about farts. Get ready for that, lol!
What is everyone’s favorite gift out of the above?
Dekker loves his soldering iron.
Laela loves her lamp.
Rowan loves his lamp.
Solly loves his Lego set.
Wavy loves her jammies.
The morsel loves their book.
The spoonful loves playing with the sippy cups.
All in all, it was a VERY cute time with the kids. Those were only the things they got from us! Let me tell you, these kids are NOT hurting for presents, which is just incredible and so honouring!
The day has been spent opening gifts, playing with said gifts, drinking coffee, putting our feet up, and simply enjoying time together. What a beautiful peaceful day 💜 Thank you Lord for sending that Son of yours. The true gift in amongst all this other stuff. I couldn’t be more grateful 💜
I headed to church with the fam. However, a certain morsel didn’t even make it through the music in the beginning before getting too wiggly and noisy. In fact, for the first time, that morsel was even too loud to roll around in the back of the church, at least in my opinion. So, baby and I stole the van keys out of Brady’s jacket and loaded up in the van. We then drove circles around town while live streaming the service on my phone 😂 So that was a new way to do church, but it counts!
It may have been an unconventional kick off, but it is Christmas Eve, and we are officially in it! The festivities begin today! I am so looking forward to a Christmas with two new family members this season! Thank you Lord for bringing such beautiful people and experiences into our lives!
The name of todays blog has been coined by Cher, and its a meal we’ve been having recently! Supper Roulette is a meal made up of whatever weird things need eating, regardless of how well they go together or how much of each we have.
For example. The other day, we made noodles, fried up some burgers that tasted like nothing out of the freezer, and boiled up some frozen broccoli with cheese leftover from a salad meal. Burger patties were the weird addition here, but they went over well and now, they don’t live in my freezer! Win!
Todays supper was not especially (or at all) nutritious, so don’t come for me. But it was made up of the bottom of many bags, and now, those bags are GONE! I’m a happy lady!
We have some cottage cheese perogies, taquitos, hashbrown patties, pizza bites, and KD. As I said. No nutrition here. I know. Its ok. They are SO fine, I promise you. And they’re happy, because they really enjoyed supper! As did Brady and I!
We cracked out some of the Christmas cookies I’ve made and frozen over the past month or so, and everyone is nicely full.
I actually super enjoy supper roulette and how strange it is. And its a huge help that the kids are good sports with it. You never know whats coming, but everyone likes something, and there is no fight.
Well! Today is the LAST DAY before Christmas holidays!! The LAST DAY of school, aaaaand the LAST DAY of work for Brady!!! 🥳 He doesn’t have the entire break off by any means, but he does have this chunk between Christmas and New Years off, as well as a couple days into January. I am SO looking forward to having him home 💜 And the kids, of course! Staying in bed longer. Moving slower. Celebrating and catching up with our loved ones. Its going to be SO nice.
Wavy, however, it already on holiday time.
Do you love her smorning shirt?? We ALL got one, courtesy of our dear Dahlsjos.
Our little lady is already done with school, so she’s chilling at home with me and the babies today. And of all things, I don’t have a ton to do today!! So maybe I’ll plan some meals for over Christmas. Maybe I won’t. I could work on some Christmas blogs. If I’m brave, I could bring the gifts down to the tree, but one adventurous morsel might have other plans. At some point I need to drive to Brady’s work to bring a few things we forgot about. But, beyond that, I think today I might put my feet up, and I am HERE for it!! Cher will come for coffee in the afternoon, and things will be cozy and restful. At least thats the plan!!
Yesterday already felt like Friday, so today is going to be the first day of Christmas holidays 💜 Merry Christmas holidays, guys!
Today was the Christmas concert for the elementary school the kids attend. Its always very cute. The grade sixes put the play on, while every class files in and out, performing the songs they’ve been practicing for weeks. I was SO impressed with ALL FOUR of our kids who participated!! They did ALL the actions, sang along, knowing the words, and smiling for the crowd. It was incredibly smooth! Laela did disco dance. Rowan did some hip hop. Wavy did the robot. And Solly did a dance as well, but it wasn’t a specifically popular move, hahaha! It was just really cute 🙂
During the program this afternoon, the morsel was getting twitchy, and we ended up standing at the back together. But eventually, morsel wanted to sit on the floor. And then roll on the floor. And then sample and taste the walker that was parked along the back wall. So while I tried to video the kids up front, I was working to be a barrier between the morsel and the mobility aid. This 🙌 is my life. But then I heard a familiar morsel squeak off the my side, and the incredible principal of the school had left her post at the sound table, and they were rocking together. 💜 My heart positively melted. Thats sure happening a lot lately. How fortunate I am 💜
Anyway. After ALL the Christmas stuff today, we’re just tucking into bed for the night now, and this is late for us old folks 🥱 Goodnight, all!! Tomorrow is the LAST day of school AND work before a holiday!!! I’m so ready!
Yesterday evening, I was given a break to achieve some real rest. I took that break and ran with it. And by “ran with it” I mean I ran a hot bubble bath, made up some mashed potatoes with butter, cheese, and bacon bits, and watched true crime on YouTube. It was absolutely PERFECT.
We all have our thing, guys. Don’t judge mine.
Tonight, I will enjoy another form of rest – an evening outing with Cher, tying up loose ends before Christmas, sharing a meal together, some coffee, and just joining in the hustle and bustle of this festive season 💜 We make a date of it every year, and while we cut it a bit close, I’m very glad we were still able to fit it in!
I hope you find your days productive but enjoyable. That kind of productivity that doesn’t feel like work but feels rewarding and happy!
You know when reality just hits you? That feeling you get? Whether its old or new stuff, sometimes it just slaps you clear in the face. Triggers, I suppose. I’ll give you an example of one of mine. In winter, when its icy, I tend to be the one who loads Brady’s wheelchair into the back of the van. He absolutely would, but its safer for me, since I can feel the stability of my feet better. But it tends to be there, in the cold, behind the van, where it hits me HARD that we have a wheelchair now. That Brady is paralyzed now. That our reality has changed so greatly. I’m not upset about it, but its definitely a reality check from time to time.
I had one of those yesterday night, where I stumbled down our stairs in the dark house in search of our morsel’s IV pole that holds the feeding pump. It always comes up when the babies come up, but it got missed last night. I scoured the main area of the house with my phone flashlight, and it took forever to realized a well-meaning kid had tucked it out of the way, inside the pantry. I rolled it through the kitchen towards the stairs, and had my moment of “My goodness. Our kid is tube fed. Poor baby!” Again. I’m not mad about it! We’ve actually developed a pretty good groove with it, and I’m happy that technology exists! But sometimes its just strange when reality hits.
On another hand, I have a VERY nice, albeit small, story to record here about our dear morsel. Just a couple of days ago, I got my very first morsel kiss. And I don’t mean when I kiss their mouth and they stick their tongue out to “kiss” me back. Don’t get me wrong, those are also epic, hahaha! But a couple of days ago, as I stood in the kitchen with a baby on my hip, speaking to Brady, the morsel leaned in and placed their little mouth on my cheek. Then, the baby leaned back, and made the lightest little smacking sound with their lips.
It was AMAZING. An unprompted act of love. What a huge gift I was given 💜 I am consistently overwhelmed with gratefulness for the little people who come through our home. That morsel has my heart 🥰
Today is a day free of daytime deadlines! Its not without things to do, of course, but there are no staunch timelines and maybe a little bit more rest. That being said, I’m still going to duck out today for some errands. But! They’re CLOSE errands! Not entire days away errands! Restful errands. I’ll even see Brady partway through 💜
Hopefully today I will mail Christmas cards, and deliver some to Brady to give to his friends. I’ll buy a couple of small things, hopefully at Dollar Tree. I have to drop by the school, but closer to pickup time, not earlier. And I’ll make a quick stop somewhere to procure a drink or treat for Cher, as she works through a final today. I already spoke to a respirologist today, and I’m waiting to hear back from a social worker or two. And two different couriers are supposed to stop by today.
Whew! “Free” days are definitely not all the way empty, but I feel like today will be a gooder! And I have this cute little Miss alongside!!
Plus the morsel and the spoonful, who are also terribly cute! But you’ll just have to take my word for it 💜
