Preparing for the Christmas Season

It may be a bit early for a Christmas prep post, but here are my reasons...

1. It's the next holiday

2. The first snowflakes fell in GP today

3. I love Christmas time :)

So... another Christmas season that I'm gonna be away from home and I'm already sad about it. Skype is a huge blessing in my life - I really don't think

I'd be able to live this far away if I couldn't skype my mama once a week. I'm already anticipating the hard times being away from my family for another holiday season. It's strange to join with other families and learn about other families' traditions. I am going to miss having eggs and bacon in the morning, and having big piles of "stocking stuffers", and sitting around in my pajamas for 3/4 of the day, and eating Christmas bon bons.

Things I am looking forward to as we enter a new season:

1. Making Christmas cookies

2. Buying gifts for people I love

3. Making Christmas cards (hopefully!)

4. Sending Christmas cards

5. Getting new boots

It is going to be a great season, and I'm grateful to be surrounded by amazing people to spend my holidays with here :) (One amazing person in particular...)

Hope it wasn't to early to grace you with some festive cheer!

Fall Leaves

Well, I've officially made it to my second fall in Grande Prairie. It has been a very full year. Some ups, some downs, some very exciting things. I thought it would be a huge transition... moving all the way to northern Aberta. But I find that I don't feel all that far from home. I guess I've made my own life, and found my own family out here. Having actual family out here helps as well!

It's the little things that make me feel far from home. I love the fall in Ontario. It's always been my favourite season. The colours are so beautiful and the leaves cover the ground so perfectly. Fall in GP is not the same. It only lasts 2 weeks. The trees turn yellow, the winds pick up, and then all the leaves fall off the trees. Its short and swift. The leaves are still beautiful, but it's not the same. I miss the red and orange. I miss maple trees in general. I miss sitting on the back porch drinking something warm, and wearing a sweater. I miss walking with my mama. It's funny how one thing I miss leads me on a string of missed memories.

I'm very glad that I've moved to GP. Wonderful things are happening in my life, and I am very happy. It's just different. Some days I miss home more than others. Hopefully GP will soon be the home and I miss when I'm away.

If you're in Ontario, try to enjoy the leaves for me!

5 great surprises

It was time to add a new list, and I was thinking about all the great little surprises I've gotten over the last week. Here are 5 of the best ones:

1. A white rose left for me after volunteering

2. A bottle of red wine to share

3. Unexpected snail mail (in the form of birthday cards!)

4. Someone (who shall remain nameless) taking work off to spend time with me :)

5. A preschooler hugging me at the end of his therapy session

I heart surprises like these ones :)

Three Generations in Grande Prairie All At Once

This past week I was lucky enough to have some visitors in GP. Not only one, but TWO of them! My mom and her mom (my grandma) both risked the long layovers to see where their long lost daughter was hiding these days. It was a great week and I'm so happy that they were both able to come.

We stayed busy each day and I finally had the chance to show them around my world. I think we did everything we could have in one week, except maybe visit the dinosaur tours in pipestone.

I can just hear my mom on skype now... "Oh! Muskiseepi park? That's where we went right?" or "Beaverlodge! That's where we saw the giant beaver, right?" Oh she makes me laugh. But it really will be great to talk about people and places and to know that she actually can picture those things. It feels like they are much more involved in my life, even though they may be

4000 kms away.

So glad they came :) Here are some pics from our adventures!

Chillin' out with the giant beaver.

Standing in front of the roller coaster she conquered!

Some rickety old houses at the McNaught (mom's maiden name) homestead.

Hanging out by the bridge at Dunvegan

Waiting for our turn to lose at the horse races at evergreen park :)

Clearly it was a pretty great week!

Quality Girl Time

Girlfriends are SO important, no matter how old you are, and what stage of life you are in. I've have been more than blessed with amazing girlfriends in every town that I've lived in. GP is no exception to that rule!

These are a couple of my gorgeous ladies! I was blessed to meet these beautiful women at my church. We've only known each other for a few months, but already we've been there for each other through thick and thin. It is so important to have people in your life who will be honest with you, support you, and tell you what you need to hear (whether you want to hear it or not!). I believe everyone women needs other strong women in their lives for many reasons:

- Accountability

- Prayer

- Fun

- Venting (we all do it!)

- Wisdom

- Excitement

- Support

So far I think these women have been there for me whatever the reason. Hopefully they know how much I appreciate the friendship and that I gladly will return the favor whenever it's needed!

Here are some pics from our fun in the park:

Beautiful smiles ladies :)

5 reasons I am smiling

1. Mini-golf

2. Joop's new bandanas

3. Good conversations

4. Avocado (it's just delicious)

5. My mama and grandmama are visiting in less than a week!! (fun things ahead for them!)

Happy as a Clam

I'm pretty happy right now.

And I can't sleep.

And I have to get up in 6.5 hours.

But I don't really care.

I'm pretty darn happy tonight.