Our Time In Muskoka

We've been home for a few hours and I'm exhausted. I definately need a vacation after my vacation, anyone else ever feel that way when you come home from a vacation with children? It was both awesome and difficult at times. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family and was really sad not to have Ruby with us. I wrote to her in my journal everyday and that helped to have it feel like she was with us.

So.... are you ready for A LOT of pictures. There are just some of the highlights, between my father in law and I, we took .... oh.... around 300 pictures. hehe

These are my TOP 3 of the ones that I took:






This is the view from the balcony at the suite, how gorgeous is this sunset?



And here are some pics of our time there. I don't feel like putting a ton of captions, so here y'all go:









Look at how long Melody's legs are, this kid is 9 and 4'7", she's totally going to tower over me in a few years.








These two young ladies worked at the rec centre and Melody adored the two of them. They were fantastic with the children and Melody was so happy to go down everyday to see them and find out what was going to happen thanks to how kind and friendly they were.



On Saturday evening they had the Muskoka Wildlife Center and family park come in to have an informative show about some of the animals in Ontario. These are animals who have been born into captivity and wouldn't survive, have had accidents, abandoned, etc. It's a great place for families to go and see animals native to Ontario.

Thes was a baby lynx:






A wood turtle:






A gray wolf named Eve who was SO sweet!!! Look at that paw and she's only a few months old!!






A great horned owl:






A sweet beaver, he was very friendly and the kids got to pet him after the show was over.



These pictures are from when we said goodbye to Ruby this morning. We were pleased to see that her flowers had made it through the winter. We got her a few extra things to make her grave adorable and sweet. We miss our Roo Roo so much and this is really all we can do for her now. Please keep us in your prayers as the summer continues.












More pictures:



Aizen was tuckered out from his long week and fell asleep in the car! awwwww


Thanks for looking and seeing our vacation. And yes mom, you'll get the rest of the pictures when I see you next!!!

Another Summer Without Her

We are getting ready to head up to the time share in Muskoka this week and it's just another reminder that Roo isn't here with us. We will visit her grave but it's just not the same. I want to see my baby girl in the pool, see her on the swings and climbing on the playground with her brother and sister. I miss her so much, she would have been 5 this summer and it really sucks that we have to endure every day without her.

We aren't taking the laptop with us this year, so I won't be posting until atleast next Sunday, depends on how our time up there goes and if I go into another grief depression funk.

Dee =)

Dear Blog

Dear blog,

I am sorry for neglecting you over the last few months. Things have been a bit hectic over on this end of the computer. I've had a rough few months with my grief and am starting to feel better. I'll write more often and tell you more about my life. But right now I need to see if I can go and do that sleep thing. Wish me luck!!

Dee =D

It's DONE!!!!!!! and A New One

/does a little dance singing ... it's done!!! it's done!!! it's done, it's done, it's done!!! I am so thrilled to finally have this project done. Isn't it gorgeous? I really hope they like it and hang it on the wall. hehe I can't wait to give it to them next Saturday and watch as my friends get married and commit their lives to Christ and themselves!! Blessings to you both!!


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And here is a project I've been working on over the last week while watching tv for Melody. I think it's a great quote for a little girl to read daily and live by as she becomes a wonderful lady and woman of Christ. I just need to get it framed. =D

Ruby's 5th Birthday

This is a super long post with lots of pictures on how we spent Ruby's birthday!! We always make her favourite cake: strawberry shortcake and sing happy birthday to her. This year was extra special because Melody was able to get her hair cut in memory of Roo for Locks of Love. She had 11 inches that she is donating.... so... here we go:

Aizen and I made the whipped cream for her cake and of course I had to give him one of the beaters. He couldn't get his tongue into the middle so he shoved his hand in and got lots of whipped cream that way. And yep, he's sitting on the counter hehe
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After school my father in law and I picked up Melody and proceeded to First Choice Haircutters to get Melody's hair done. Here is how long her hair has gotten, she has been growing it for 3 years now.

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All ready to get it chopped off!!!

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Getting her hair styled, it's in a bob that is shorter at the back and a bit longer in the front.

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She loved getting her hair blow dried and kept giggling about it tickling.

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Here we are back at home with her new hairstyle, Jenna and the hair she is donating.

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We started to make Ruby's cake. I had already sliced the strawberries and made the whipped cream.

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Her birthday candles, so bittersweet. /sigh

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Here is Melody about to blow the candles out just after we sang Happy Birthday to our precious Ruby.

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And the next few pics are of everyone enjoying the cake.

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A Skirt For Jenna

Melody's birthday is just over a month away and I'm trying to think of ways that I can give her presents without spending a lot of money. We don't have much atm ... SO.... I've had this little skirt tutorial for a while now and decided to try a trial one. I want to make ones that are matching between Melody and Jenna but wasn't sure of my sewing skills.

The skirt is reversible and such an easy pattern. I had to read it like 10 times through to get it but here it is. Jenna was an Awesome model and we got the perfect shot the first time for each skirt shot.

I can't wait to get making some more next week when Melody is at school.

First side of the skirt:


Other side of the skirt:

Happy Birthday Ruby!!!

I'm not going to post too much today. It's been a really long day and I'm pretty exhausted. I have lots of pics with all that happened to remember my little girl by.

Ruby would have been 5 today if she were still with us. I wonder how she would have looked. Would she still love strawberry shortcake and asked for it as her cake? Would she still have those round chubby cheeks or been skinny like her sister? So many questions I wonder about her that I will never have the answers to.

I'll make a big post tomorrow when Melody is at her art class but until then....

Happy Birthday Ruby!!!!!
~ Hope you had a great birthday in Heaven with all the other little kids and our Saviour!!!!!

My Poor Eye =(

So, Sunday I had an itch on my right eye so I scratched it. A couple hours later a couple blemish looking bumps appeared. Overnight my eyelid started to swell to about mid way on my eyelid. I went in to urgent care to get it checked out and guess what it is??

It's a Coldsore!!!!!!! I knew that you could get one near the eye but it's so uncommon and lucky me!! It's itchy and puffy and just well bleh. hehe I keep a bandage on it overnight so I don't accidently scratch it in the middle of the night. I'm a pirate!!! yar!!!!

I go in again tomorrow for a checkup to make sure it's doing well. My eyelid has swollen completely now but the blisters haven't broken and my actual eye doesn't hurt. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

It's Almost Finished!!

Here is the latest update on the cross stitch project. It's almost finished. I just need to do some detail backstitching to make certain parts pop. Hope you all had a great Easter, we sure did!!

Aizen .... The Shoe Organizer ???

On Monday I got to sleep in while Daniel was home and taking care of Aizen. I went to get Melody at the bus stop and couldn't find my shoes on the mat where I always put them. I look up and this is what my son was doing while daddy was watching him. Those are my white sneakers on the very top of the pile. I love that kid!!!

He loves to organize things and put them in piles of alike items. He is also enjoying getting on a step stool and jumping off. He's growing up so much and I can't believe that he is going to be 3 in just a couple of months. Where did my itty bitty baby go??

Cross Stitch Project I'm Working On

I've been working on this beautiful cross stitch project for the last week and a bit. I posted it over on my card blog and wanted to put it on here as well. I won't be getting many cards made while I am working on this project. I am working on the right lower hand corner with the grass and stuff. I'll update later with more progress.

Click on the image to see the details, it's A LOT of little x's!!

My Gooberheads!!!

My kids are so cute and funny. Aizen was running around and trying to get into the tv area. Melody grabbed him and pulled him up onto the chair. Had to pull the camera out. Don't they look so cute together. AiAi's expression in the second picture is hilarious... he caught on that I had the camera and this was his cheesy grin, what a gooberhead!!!

I Need To Blog More

oopsies, bad on me for not blogging earlier. I got really sad and depressed around Ruby's anniversary time and was functioning very well at all. I'm doing better now and have been busy with all kinds of stuff.

I'll be posting in the next few days about some of the things I've been doing and links for some of those things. Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts through this rough time, they are appreciated more than you could ever know.

((((hugs)))) Dee =)

For You Shauna ~ Couple New Pics Of Aizen

After taking some pictures of Melody with her Valentine's, thought I'd pop in and take some pictures of AiAi, so here is his Shauna, look how much he's grown!!

Melody's Class Valentine's =D

Melody and I finished up her class valentine's yesterday. So, here they are. They are a flower made with 2 types of cardstock and a tootsie roll pop in the middle that acts as the pretty flower middle. I took a couple pictures of her this morning with her basket and she sure is excited to hand them out at her class party today.

How Cute Is This??

I was over at Naomi's blog and saw she had one of these little stick figure images of her family, so I HAD to get one of mine. It will be at the bottom of my blogs and you can make your own at this site: Free Flash Toys

Publish Post

She Reminds Me Of Melody

This is the card I made today for my 365 Card Challenge, you can check out my other cards on my other blog, and YES!!!! ALL of my cards are for sale!!!! /cheesy grin

Isn't this little girl just adorable? She reminds me of Melody when she was that age. So, I knew when I pulled this stamp out to use she had to be eating squash. Melody would eat squash like there was not tomorrow, and it is still one of her favourite vegetables.

Silly Hubby ~ Aizen In Ketchup Heaven

So, last night I made grilled cheese for the family. Aizen doesn't like grilled cheese, he likes to pick at the cheese and it frustrates him with grilled cheese. So, while I am cooking I ask Daniel to make AiAi a sammich and this is what he made for him on his highchair tray! I love that man. Needless to say, Aizen LOVED it and he was in ketchup heaven!!!

My Tub Buddies =D

I gave Aizen a haircut today and he needed a bath afterwards to get all the hair off of him. Nana and papa got Aizen this great little tub toy that squirts water everywhere, it's quite a lot of fun. Aizen loves it and Melody had to come and see what it was all about. So here are my tub buddies playing with the toy. =D