Ramblings...

As a parent, we can find ourselves deep in the trenches.  It's hard to take it all in; to be in the moment and appreciate it.  Sometimes I wish I could see what's happening from high in the sky, just for a minute or two.  I am prone to saying the word "busy" but I don't mean it in a negative way.  It's just that time keep on moving forward and sometimes (most of the time) I want it to slow down so I can take a breath and take it all in.  I am thankful to be lucky enough to be in the trenches, don't get me wrong, but the days are going by too fast and I don't always notice the special little things happening around me like these moments:

Our two girls having fun on the dance team.

One of our favourite things to do is hike in the bush and each hike gets easier... we started when they were just babies in a carrier.  This time we took my brother and his family.  They had their baby in a carrier.

Here's Victor... just woke up from a nice nap next to to his mommy.

The other night I had an evening just with Alex.  His sisters were each at a sleep over and Ian was working in the field.  We had supper together, we played outside and then we went for a ride on the 4-wheeler around our farm.  That was so much fun!  Alex drove most of the way on his own with my support behind him - it's a big 4-wheeler but he did very well.

No, Grace is not driving yet!  We got a new truck this spring and it seems to be a favourite place to play.  

We have a beautiful, old tree beside our house.  It's the only tree on our yard that the kids can climb and even in a dress, Jean can get up and move around the branches.  I have a little anxiety over the kids climbing but I know it's what they like to do... and what childhood is complete without climbing a few trees? 

I like to play around with some of the features on my camera.
This did not turn out the way I had planned but it is interesting anyways.

I have a very creative oldest daughter.  She moves from one craft to the next very quickly but right now it's all about taking interesting photos.  I look on my camera and find all sorts of  creative shots, such as this one.  I don't know why she wanted a photo of her dirty white sock feet... its a good example of what I find periodically.  At least it's not another "selfie" although there are still plenty of those!  Sometimes we see her run outside just to take a photo of the sunset!  She wants to be an artist and I think she has a flare for it... I love being creative as well and it's fun to see her view the world her own way and  create what she loves.  

Another example of a photo by Grace.

So here I am rambling on about our life.  My family.  My favourite people in the world.  I sometimes look in the mirror and see an older face.  I am not getting any younger but I am getting wiser, some days.  I am going to just keep on loving each day as they come and look forward to the future and treasure the past.

Enough of the philosophical stuff.  

I should probably go fold laundry and watch tv.

Featured in the Country Guide

Our family farm was very proud to be featured in an article in the Country Guide farm publication; we were profiled about our succession planning.  You can read it here:

Article in the Country Guide

The photos are amazing - such a great keepsake (and made even more special because my sister-in-law, Mandy, was in labour during the photo session and gave birth to her son, Harvey, that night). We had a small window of opportunity for the photographer to come and I crossed my fingers it would work... and it did but she wasn't feeling the best throughout it.

Our farm business and family are committed to keeping our business successful, working relationship successful and family together and happy.  This isn't always easy but we try to keep communication open and honest.  This is a business article (therefore not everyone would understand what it is about) but we feel it explains our process pretty well.  It's exciting to have a few minutes of fame!

Spring is in the Air but I Love Winter

I have really enjoyed the winter months.  I know, I know... sounds crazy, right?  Spring is taking it's sweet time arriving (it's -2 degrees right now - bitter, damp cold) and all everyone wants is some balmy temperatures to make the snow disappear so we can all run outside in a light jacket... or nothing at all!

This is not what is looks like outside my house today but it did look like this just a week ago.  It's dreary... the poor wild turkeys are looking for food.

Other than the cold temperatures, I am not complaining.  I love the winter.  This is what it represents to me:  time to be together as a family without the whirlwind of a busy farm around us.  Our business is on hiatus in the winter (that doesn't mean we are not working but at a much different pace and in a different way) so we enjoy being together just playing and having fun.  Whether we are away on vacation, watching tv in the evenings or running the roads with the kids to their activities, it is time we spend together as a family.  

The winter months also allow me to take time for myself.  I like to create and my latest passion is quilting... oh how I feel energized when I get to immerse myself in all things fabric!

But...

most of us agree it's time for spring to arrive.

I know the warm days are coming - my house is infested with flies, which means that spring is in the air.  It's time to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in!

The spring is energizing - even for me!  I welcome the change of pace and look forward to another farming season for us... I love watching our crops grow and selling them is another passion of mine.  As a family, we will still spend quality time together but it is just in a different way.

Those Bittersweet Moments

I took our oldest daughter, her two friends and our youngest daughter shopping for the day. Grace, who is 10 1/2 years old, loves to shop and thought it would be fun to go with her friends so we chose a day during the March Break. Jean, who is 6 years old, did not want to miss out.

The three older girls are good friends and very nice girls to be around. I couldn't be happier with her choice in friends. Normally three can be a crowd but it never seems that way when they are together. I wasn't exactly sure how the day would go but shortly after we arrived, I let them go off on their own. I tried to keep up with them but they were moving fast so I thought it best to give them parameters and time frames and we connected to wifi to stay in touch with Grace's iPod and my phone. Long gone are the days of asking the time from shopkeepers, like I used to do...I didn't always have a watch. 

Jean and I roamed the stores we chose but it isn't easy to shop with her. She felt we should only look for things for her. I didn't buy a darn thing for myself!  Her mind was on shoes, of which she already has a fetish for but the right ones were hard to find. We met up with the older girls and they were having a blast. They found things they liked but had to think on it (good shopping rules to have), they browsed through so many different items such as home decor, the Apple Store, high heel shoes, skin care...the list goes on. By the time we sat down for lunch, they were chatting away and exchanging photos that they took. Before we left the mall they went back to a couple more stores to make some purchases and we grabbed a treat and left. We made a quick stop to another show store for Jean and then came home. They had a great time. 

I did as well. One thing I didn't realize is how bittersweet it was and how emotional it made me. My girl is growing up way too fast. She is now enjoying activities that I remember loving to do as a preteen. I was basically the chauffeur for the day and other than paying for lunch and a pair of shoes, Grace and her friends were on their own and could do it all. The shopkeepers were so wonderful to the girls (I did my best to check in frequently) and it was a great learning experience for them.  The mall was filled with young girls with their moms trailing after them...I wasn't the only one and it felt very safe to be there. 

I love every stage of parenthood. Each age almost seems more fun than the last but this next stage for Grace is really going to be hard. It's going by way too fast; she still shows signs of being a young kid at times but they are fewer and farther in between. She goes away on her own more than ever - skiing with friends, sleepovers at family members and other activities that take just her away from us. 

I will just have to continue to take a deep breath and be here for her. It's all good!

Some Oldies but Goodies

I have the desire to just put random, wonderful photos in my blog tonight.  Nothing much needs to be said for each photo - they are just precious little memories for us.

Grace:  step dancing for a St. Patty's day party.

Jean:  Always dancing...

Jean:  Dress-up and dancing

Alex:  birthday boy

Jean:  more dress-up

Alex:  playing on the beach at Bon Echo park

Grace:  she loved to dress-up as well.

Grace and Alex:  a sweet moment

Blessings

I can't stop loving these photos... my wonderful friend, Gemma gemmarobillard.ca did the most amazing job taking snapshots of us last fall.  Our winter has been a whirlwind - all good stuff- but just looking at these pictures gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.  I am so blessed.

By the way, I have more to share... but will save that for another day!

Warm Thoughts of Florida

We are in a deep freeze right now.  Maybe blogging about our vacation to Florida will warm me up.

This year our trip to Florida was filled with lots of beach time.  Laurderdale-by-the-Sea is special to Ian and I because we spent two vacations there before we had children, spent with some family and friends.  We had some good memories of warm weather and beautiful scenery.  The beach is beautiful and being on the ocean is amazing. 

Two Mermaids

 We spent five nights at a small Inn just a block from the ocean.  We were in walking distance of everything including the beach, grocery store, restaurants, playground and a farmers' market.  We spent a lot of time playing in the sand and water.  The waves were the most fun!

On Sunday morning we walked to the Farmers' Market.  We chatted with quite a few vendors and purchased some little souvenirs and some strawberries.

The pool area was small but nice.  

The next part of our vacation started with a tour across the everglades with a stop at Everglade Park, just outside of Miami.  We went on an airboat ride touring the everglades and we saw many alligators, turtles and birds.

This was funny... we got to watch a presentation on some of the creatures that live in the everglades and luckily we were sitting in the front row!  Grace got to experience a scorpion close up!

Next stop:  Grandma and Grandpa McGregor's Florida house... we spend many evenings playing dominoes.  Now that the kids are old enough, they can stay up with us and play.

Two weeks of relaxing and spending time together... I wait for this all year long and now it is over for another year.  Time to plan the next trip to Florida!