Family Night

Every Monday night, for those of you who may not be aware, we hold a family night in our home which goes along with the counsel our church has given families to hold regular "Family Home Evenings". Jason and I decided it would be fun to have a family song that we sing at the beginning of every family night. So to the tune of "Twinkle Little Star" we sing:

Here we are on Monday Night
To fill our home with truth and light.
Prayer and song and Spirit too,
And we'll have a treat for you.
We're a family; choose the right!
Bring a smile 'cause it's our night!

Of course Ada loves the part we sing about the treat. It's so amazing to see her sing this song and to love Family Home Evening. She is great!
Well last night we decided to have Orange Julius for our treat. The recipe I found on the internet wasn't so great... I've had better. But it was edible and it was fun to eat them together. Mia is reaching the stage where she sees us drinking something and she thinks "I want to try that!" So last night I let her suck on my cup after I was done. I think she really enjoyed it... even if there was nothing there for her to taste.

Ada and the julius didn't hit it off so well but she did find that it was fun to play in the foam using her straw.

For our activity we decided to open up the dance floor and turn on "I like to move it" which became a family favorite, particularly for Ada, when we watched "Madagascar" last year. I have included a video here of her from back in the summer. She found she could really get the crowd going if she stuck her bum out and shook what her mama gave her... so cute!

For the Love of Music

Winter struck again here in Bass River/Truro on Sunday, cancelling church and giving us another opportunity to get out and shovel our long driveway. Originally we had arranged with a plow... he seems to have forgotten because he came back twice and we haven't seen him since. He didn't even collect his money. Fortunately we have been informed that we're getting a snow blower. Unfortunately the winter is nearly done and we won't need it till next year. But shovelling for me has been a bonus because I found that it was sometimes the only reason to get out.

Yes indeed it has been a long winter. Having a brand new baby, a two year old, no car and living 40 minutes from town has had me feeling very isolated and itching to get free. Around 5pm on a lot of days I catch myself looking out the window every 10 minutes to see if Jason has driven in the driveway yet... or even if he is driving down the road in the distance. It's true that this computer has felt like my only connection to the outside world at times.

So when I looked out the window a few days ago and saw a ring of green grass around the bottom of one of our trees I couldn't help but smile. Spring is on its way.

Ada and I still took advantage of the snow today. We have a great hill out front of our home and today it was prime. Ada enjoyed sending down her teddy bear on the sled and Mia watched from below while Ada and I both took some turns on the sled. It's for this reason and several others that I am willing to overlook the isolated feelings I feel and hope that next winter will be different.

A few weeks back, in February, I was told that my childhood piano teacher, Anne Ramey Wilson, had passed away. This news shook me and has caused me to think a lot about some things.

First of all, I had on a number of occasions visited Saint John having the intention to include a visit to Anne's house, each time failing to do it. It had been several years since I had seen her. So when I found out she had passed away I felt so sad and wished I had just taken the time. This in turn has caused me to think about the way I keep in touch with other people too. There are more people than I care to mention that I should keep regular contact with and don't. My efforts to be on facebook and this blog are the result of these events. I hope I can put forth more efforts in other areas as well. There are so many people I love and think about often but have rarely taken the time to tell them.

Second, this news has made me realize I can't neglect my musical talents like I have been. My goal this year is to have a piano or something equivalent in our home. After I left university, having done two years there, and taught for a year before my mission, I really haven't done much more other than playing here and there. So it is my resolve to not let this talent go, but to keep it moving forward. I want my children to remember their mother playing the piano in their home as they grew up. I want them to know how important it is to me.

I love Anne; she instilled and awoke within me a love and appreciation for music that I will cherish all my life. I have so many memories of sitting in her home on Adelaide Street in Saint John. I will never forget her nor the dominant place she held in my musical life.

Here goes nothing!

Here I am creating a blog still without much of a clue what a blog is or does. Nonetheless I am doing it in the hopes that I can keep in better touch with so many people that I barely see or talk to. My life has turned out great and I am sure that there is much more to come.

With two little girlies under my wing, I make what sometimes seems like a sad attempt to be a mother. They are beautiful, loving, smart, forgiving, honest and neither has reached even the age of 3.

Ada is a bright talking, blond haired, blue eyed sweetie and is often greeted by strangers when we are out and about. She has acquired an interest in ballet and she also has her long standing love of Cinderella. She recently discovered that if she wears a pretty dress and shoes and then leaves one of those shoes on the stairs, she can actually be Cinderella. For now she is satisified with one of her teddy bears as the handsome prince, but I often remind her that someday her prince will come and take her to the temple. She loves to sing the primary songs we have taught her and many other nursery rhymes too.

Out little Mia-moo is a bundle of smiles. Not a day goes by without oodles of grins from her and it certainly has created a sweet spot in my heart. Born last November, she is 4 months now and has brought lots of joy to our hearts.

Jason is an amazing husband with all the love he gives. His fatherly skills have also proven to be quite plentiful and I am so thankful for his example. He works away at his third year in the Environmental Horticulture Program at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College.

I am a mother and I am grateful for that. I know that Heavenly Father has put something divine within me that gives me the ability to nuture and love my daughters like no one else can. I am a wife and it is a privilege to be eternally wed to my husband.

I love my family and I think thats a great way to begin a blog. I hope they know that and that I can give them all my love and life. I hope that can be the theme of my life. I have a ways to go but eternity is a long time!