Brady and I had a really nice time at the Zak’s Christmas party last night. The program was endearing. The draw for gifts was fun. The trivia was fun, though completely over our heads. The food was yummy, and the drinks were free. But I think I can confidently say we really, really enjoyed sitting with some familiar faces. We have a couple of people we used to know from Bethany days that are connected to Zaks, so we got to catch up after years of not knowing one another! It was really nice to visit with people who were also knew to the company, and didn’t know anyone else. We caught up for hours until they had to go retrieve their kid and call it a night. We stayed a visited a little longer, because we were sans kids for the night (heyooo!) but we were pretty bushed and it wasn’t long before we packed it up as well.

We planned to grab a treat or something special on the drive home, but we were both cold and tired and just wanted to go to bed, lol! So we did! We got home, and Brady set up coffee for the morning while I snuggled into bed with a heating pad. Brrrrr! We watched one episode on Netflix before we both passed out good and proper. Whew!

This morning, we slept waaaaay in! It was incredibly nice to take our time, and stay in bed way longer than a responsible adult should. But eventually, we decided to make a run into Saskatoon and do a quick Walmart and Michaels sweep. It was REALLY nice to run a few errands, kid-free, when the weather was pleasant! It was sunny and people were happy. It was busy, for sure, but no one was miserable or rude. It was low key, and I liked that. We got a few Christmas gifts in hand, and some more yarn, because there is simply never enough. (Except ask Brady, I exercised great restraint and only bought stuff I actually had a plan for!) We got some vitamins and even managed to get a hand on one bottle of Childrens tylenol! We got a few pantry items with Christmas in mind, and made some plans for others. We ate junior bacon cheeseburgers and scouted out new Christmas music.

It has been a really really nice couple of days. We LOVE our children, and we also love being able to be less “on” and more just together 💜 It is SUCH a treat, and we are incredibly grateful to have Tom and Rae in our lives, so willing to keep the kids overnight for us. What a gift 💜 We thank you guys again.

Everyone is home now. Timing is perfect, as the snow and wind has picked up like crazy! I’m so happy to be tucked into our living room, sipping cold coffee from the drive home, planning the week ahead. Christmas is coming up, and I’m feeling like its time for me to start falling behind and then scrambling like crazy. So rather, I’m going to become annoyingly scheduled in hopes to relieve that pressure and just do what needs doing as it needs to be done. And not a whole lot else. Sooooo if I’m boring, thats why.

You wanna help me? Get a mailbox!!!

It has been SUCH a fun day across the street with Tom and Rae 💜 And their local kids. And Rae’s mom. And Tom’s nephew. And some of their friends. The house was positively teeming with people, and it was absolutely amazing.

Brady and I worked downstairs with a handful of the group. We build and installed cabinets, which we both really enjoy doing – especially together. It brought back warm memories of assembling the cabinets for our home 💜 I loved it then, and I loved it today.

Meanwhile, the kids were upstairs with everyone else, making chocolates! They worked a bit, and played with a lot of lego and Hot Wheels cars. Then lunch! Lunch was pretty cute. Definitely our kind of lunch over here. Snacky lunch!

Once the kids had each done their part, however, they were given the incredibly special opportunity to pile onto grandma and grandpa’s bed, and play Mario Kart!!! They LOVED that!

As the special day rolled on, Brady and I snuck out and got ready for our evening away!! Tonight is Brady’s work Christmas party! We haven’t had a Christmas party since I planned one for the Allmar family when I was just freshly pregnant with Dekker. So this is new, and I’m looking forward to it 🙂

*whispers* The kids get to stay at Tom and Rae’s tonight. They are SO excited!

We are just so incredibly grateful for our people. I am humbled by their willingness to be close in our lives 💜

Yesterday had some noteworthy moments I figured I’d put on here 🙂 Just for fun!

The day began in the dark, lit just by Christmas lights! Wavy was ticked at the moment, but the picture still needed to be taken. It was fun to east breakfast in the dark, and you’d better believe we did it this morning, too!

So after breakfast, once the kids were off to school, I got Wavy ready for preschool. Her hair is getting SO LONG!

I hit a new low, taking her to school with my hair in a towel. Luckily, everyone washes their hair, and a handful of us had a good laugh about it.

My poor hair towel has been through some things, color wise 😆

A fun thing that happened yesterday also was Brady started this years beer advent calendar! It was SO fun to give it to him because he had completely forgotten about the possibility of having one. It just wasn’t in mind at all, so it was a total surprise!

He’s gonna need those Pringle can hands to get these things out, hahaha! Lucky for him, his wife has those if he has a need.

We are definitely all thinking Christmas over here 🎄

Today holds a mountain of organizing and prepping some things that should make the month ahead easier and simpler. Wish me luck, folks! The list is LONG.

I joined a crochet along project a while back, and last night I finished the final section!! Ack! I can’t resist showing you! Eek!

Of course the whole border is still needing to happen, and that will most definitely take more than one day. But that will be released on the weekend, and I’ll get to it eventually. I’m excited to show you the whole thing!!!

Meanwhile, I have another project on the go – a “just for me” project – and then my queue is open for whoever needs 🙂 Speak now, folks!

On a completely unrelated note, Wavy’s hair is getting SO LONG! Look at this precious little girl! 💜

I am a very big fan of her!!

Stay warm today, friends! It is BRUTALLY cold out! But thats winter for all you summer-haters. Good thing I can make myself a bunch of extra warm lovely things over here so I don’t freeze to death!

Man. You guys were so kind about my moping regarding all of our van window issues. Thank you all for not leaving me to feel belittled or silly. It means a lot to me. Thank you.

I thought I’d throw a quick update your way on the subject.

So as you know, the minivan is needing a new windshield. Brady had put a call in last week already, to try to confirm some insurance stuff. We have extra insurance for the bus glass, and when we bought the minivan, Brady asked that it be added to the policy, but he never heard anything back on the subject. For a minute there, we were pretty worried it hadn’t happened, and we would be out the total cost. Thankfully, today it was confirmed that we will only pay $100 for the minivan windshield replacement.

The bus side window is next, and I’ll be honest – I don’t know the cost yet. We did get paired with an insurance adjuster, however, and she called this afternoon to go over the details with Brady. She said it seems pretty straight forward, and she believes she can approve us to skip the whole damage assessment part of things and get us straight to the auto shop in Warman to get it cleaned up. What a relief.

I hope this is the end of it, but I am incredibly grateful for how smoothly the insurance process has been so far. It is NOT every day we are all flawlessly content with our insurance providers, is it? But today is that day 💜

I don’t know if its the season or just straight up bad luck but man. We have had a really bummer time with our vehicles and their glass this season.

A month or two ago, the bus took a big rock in the face and the windshield cracked right in the eye line. It was a bummer, but things happen, and we have extra insurance that makes our deductible on windows less. So we got to it and got it replaced.

A few days ago, Brady took gravel to work and some little sedan unknowingly threw a gigantic rock at the minivan. Brady said it was SO loud, he ducked. It left a big ole bullseye, once again, right in the eye line. So once again, calls are in, and we’re waiting on another new windshield.

And then yesterday, we got the mother of all rock chips. “Chip.”

Don’t get me started. My entire hand fit right in there. So I started the van to move it into the garage, and the moment I shut my door…

*sigh*

So I pushed the rest of the glass out and drove the thing into the garage. It is now covered with cardboard and garbage bags, and it’ll have to do for now. But man. Man. A lower deductible saves less money when you have to pay it so many times.

Also, does anyone remember that the bus has had the drivers side mirror ripped off twice this year?? Man alive.

It’s going to be ok. I have tools.

But for real, it will be ok. I’m pretty grumpy, but it will all get cleared up shortly and it’ll be like it never happened. Until then, I’ll be inside.

Don’t worry, I know it doesn’t rhyme. As Solly would say, I’m in this. *taps head*

It is blustery and crispy outside today! I am so grateful that I have nowhere to go today. I was going to have to go in, and I wasn’t dreading it. A little Walmart run with Waverly sounds like a pretty good time to me! But rather, the whole family went in yesterday evening, which was excellent fun, and also saves me the trip in the wind today.

Today holds laundry. I always put off the towels and sheets, and we are officially out of kitchen towels. So its time to make it happen. Maybe addressing some Christmas card envelopes to send out to family and friends who live at a distance, as well as the professionals we love and care about but won’t see before Christmas. Also, crocheting. Because I started a new blanket that gives full summertime vibes and I am really enjoying it!! That being said, with all of these blustery days ahead, I plan to be shut in for a good while, so if you need any crocheting for Christmas, speak now!!

Wavy and I will be holed up today, cozy and warm, while the rest of the town is snowing and blowing!

I am SO excited!!! Our Christmas cards walked through the door this morning, courtesy of Green Pixel Designs and Printing! Cher has taken beautiful pictures for us year after year, and Melissa crushes the Christmas card design every single time. We are so fortunate to have our people! 💜

That being said, our family pictures are very different this year 😆 Its possible they will go down as our best ones yet. Or they’ll get lost in the mix over the years, as our style may have changed forever. These are the BEST Christmas cards we have ever printed. EVER. Like. Hear me when I say we are not self absorbed, but also, you want one of these things on your fridge.

So this is my public request for MAILBOXES! Guys. Get ’em! Brady can get you one from work, even! A few years ago, a couple of people gave me heck over not having a mailbox, so guess what I did. I got one. And occasionally, people put stuff in it! We would like to be those people, leaving stuff in unsuspecting mailboxes. But first you have to have them. So consider this your gentle heck, and save me the trouble of having to loop string under the envelope fold so I can hang it somewhere.

If you are a mailbox-free hooligan, where do you want me hiding your card? Help a girl out.

Or

Just get a mailbox.

We had the genuine privilege of spending the afternoon and evening with our dear friends, the Dahlsjos 💜 The kids didn’t know, but the adults did, and it was a REALLY fun surprise for everyone! It felt like it had been much too long since we’d been together, and then suddenly, it felt like no time had passed.

There was a lot of chasing and playing. Lots of reading. Lots of drawing. Lots of music. Lots of Pokemon. And much to my delight, lots of crocheting!

We had an almost-birthday boy on hand, so there was also lots of good food! Though let’s be real – we don’t really need an excuse to eat good food.

We very much missed our fourth 💜 But he was very busy tying up one million loose ends around home, so we will have to catch him next time!

Priority one was getting all the hooligans back together, and I can say with total confidence that mission was accomplished! 💜

We love you so much, Dahlsjos! We’re looking forward to seeing you again in the new year! 💜

In case any of you weren’t sure, it is indeed not Saturday. It sure feels like one around here, though.

For starters, the kids have the day off. Which I just learned yesterday. Yikes! I’m sure I should’ve known before, but the days off around Remembrance Day definitely overshadowed this one. Whoops! So with everyone home this morning, hanging out in jammies, with Encanto playing over the Echo, it very much feels like a weekend. A Saturday.

More specifically, it feels like a Saturday with Brady working.

But guess what. We get one of those tomorrow 😩 So two in a row, lol! Not actually, but kinda.

I am anticipating Saturday, though. I’ve been working on something fun recently, and there is more fun to be had tomorrow! I’ve been following a crochet-along on a Facebook page that I’m part of. In this case, it means that every few days, a section of a blanket is released by a different designer, and whoever wants to be part of it will work it up, and the blanket will grow gradually. I admit I jumped on the bandwagon late, but I caught up, and as of yesterday, I am completely caught up, eagerly waiting for the next section. Which comes out tomorrow!!! Eek!

I also finished another crocheted Christmas gift yesterday. The two projects I was actively working on are completed, at least as far as I can get them! I’m never caught up, lol!

A good reason to look forward to Saturday 💜