Neufeld Family

Samara's 1 Year Picture

2012-01-18T09:35:00.001-08:00

Fun in the Snow

2012-01-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we were finally able to get out in the snow and play. I took David and Angeline down the hill (our street) in the morning... and back up so I got my work out in. We also attempted a Snow Man but the snow was so powdery that we didn't have much success. After rolling the bottom of our snow man back and forth for what seemed like hours I gave up. We have 2 balls stacked in the front yard so we might have a chance to make a head later. It is actually snowing as I type so we might get out to play again tomorrow but it is a bit hard with Samara.
I was surprised how long the kids lasted in the snow. In the end I had to promise David some hot chocolate just to get him in. Besides our attempt at a snow man they also made snow angels and rode their run bikes in the drive way. I had so much fun playing in the snow when I was young... it is wonderful to enjoy a snow day now with my children.
Let it snow!
PS- Thanks Great Grandma Evelyne for the Lion Scarf!

Christmas 2011 (In a Nutshell)!

2012-01-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year...

2012-01-01T09:06:00.001-08:00

I was going to end 2011 with a blogged Christmas letter but somehow the New Year has already found us. I will post Christmas pictures hopefully in the next few days as Jonathan has a few days off. We did have a lovely year end filled with lots of visits with far away family including my brother Ryan (and Ashlin) from Grande Prairie and Jonathan's sister Lauren (and Brent) from England. We are looking forward to a trip to the Island in January as well.
2012 is fairly brand new at this point but it is always nice to have a fresh start with each New Year. I am looking forward to going back to church this morning after missing a few Sundays before Christmas. I am looking forward to beginning school again with David after a few weeks off. Samara has been very cautious with her walking (mostly because of her brother and sister running circles around her) but she has been walking her way into the new year quite literally.
We are all looking forward to Winter changing into Spring and Spring into Summer. Another season of walks to the park, endless hours of play in the backyard, and another garden to plant. Angeline will soon be 3 and I am starting to feel like the 2's have mostly stayed in 2011. By the end of this Year Samara will turn 2 and we will be tested in new ways through her unique self. David will turn 6 and in September we will begin another year of homeschool with Grade 1!
I'm not sure all that 2012 will bring but I am looking forward to each day filled with new experiences and new memories to cherish.
As far as New Years Resolutions??? Jonathan and I recently started MacArthur's Study Bible for reading the bible in 1 year... it's not so much that we finish it in exactly one year but that we make the time to sit down together and spend time in God's Word. I hope to continue in Bible Study Fellowship on Wednesdays with the kids studying the book of Acts... it is amazing what we have learned since September (and I have studied Acts before). I think we will put the kids in some swimming lessons, Jonathan plans to play soccer this Spring, and I am hoping to sign up for an exercise class of some sort.
From our family to yours we wish everyone a year filled with Strength and Peace to endure hard times and Love to make this world a better place.

The Neufelds

If You're Happy and you Know it...

2011-12-22T09:14:00.000-08:00

Samara started clapping her hands last week... thought I would share a short video.

Happy 1st Birthday Samara

2011-12-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl turns 1 today. Happy 1st Birthday Samara Anne Marie! As I reflect on Samara's first year I am finding it hard to come up with the right words to express how much she means to us. Her kisses, smiles and cuddles warm our hearts. She is our sweetheart and she makes us laugh. We love her so much! She's always trying to keep up with her brother and sister and she does a pretty good job. She has taken her first steps but is cautious about starting to walk. She loves to dance (shake it Samara!) and sing... especially Elmo's song. She will often sit quietly studying a toy... you can see the wheels in her head turning. She loves noodles, mashed potatoes, carrots, yogurt and ice cream but will eat pretty much anything. Hope you enjoy these Birthday Pictures... Jonathan has some great ones on his camera as well which he will probably blog soon.

Term 2

2011-12-08T08:40:00.000-08:00

November 18th was the last day of Term 1... our first term Homeschooling. Everything went really well... David is well on his way to meeting the Learning Outcomes for Kindergarten and is at a Grade 1 level for many things. We were very pleased with his first report card.

We are now into the 3rd week of Term 2 and things are continuing to go well. David is very eager to complete the alphabet from his "All Aboard" Sing, Spell, Read & Write Curriculum. We usually do our school work before lunch and lately he has been asking to do more after lunch when we have already completed the days work.

This first picture is an example from "All Aboard" where you look at the picture and in this case find different things that start with the letter 'M.' We began Term 2 with letter "K" and are now completing letter "P." We have also been working on "Rhyming Words" this Term with more exercises from the "All Aboard" book.

Term 2 Math began with familiarizing ourselves with blocks 2-9. (Last term we were working with 1, 10 and 100). Each block is a different colour. This week we have been using blocks 2-9 to begin learning basic addition.

Here are a few of David's Christmas Crafts. He insisted the ginger bread man wear underwear! We have been focusing a lot this month on learning the songs, poem and David's line for the church Christmas Pajeant which is taking place on Sunday. I hope to post a video of David and Angeline singing and saying the poem next week.

David is continuing to work on spelling his last name and writing his address. We are learning a song in English and French. We have been reading different prophecies and bits from the Christmas Story with our new advent calendar as well.

11 months

2011-11-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

Last week Samara began month 11 and we have since been counting down the days until her first birthday. This year has gone by fast indeed and with kitchen renovations coming to a close and Christmas just around the corner the rest of 2011 is sure to go by in a blink. I had to take a few minutes to post a few pictures of my littlest Sweetheart (sorry for the red eye) because she has just changed so much lately. We have been in a bit of a battle lately trying to wean her but she did take a bottle last night after refusing it the night before. It is slow going and I am okay with that... just trying to keep us moving forward. Not sure if we will see some independent steps before her birthday but she is just loving pushing things around the house and walking around that way. She HAS to keep up with her brother and sister... including during school time. Angeline was colouring while David was working on his Math and I had to get a picture and crayon for Samara as well. You can't see them very well in the last 2 pictures but she is wearing her skinny jeans and they are SOOOOO CUTE!

Pumpkins

2011-11-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we continued working on our alphabet and phonics with letter "G." For Math we continued working on learning Place Values for Units and Tens.

This week we had a lot of fun with dress up. It also worked out that this weeks letter was "H" for Halloween! We moved on to Unit 10 for Math continuing with Place Values. This week we added Hundreds. David is counting to 100 and can recognize, write and say all the numbers from 1-100 and beyond! Besides carving pumpkins we also measured David's pumpkin (his idea). It was 14.2 lbs, 36 inches around and 15 inches tall (to top of stem). David also memorized our address and it working on spelling his last name.

Now that November is here we are starting to work on some Christmas songs and a Christmas poem for our church's pageant. David also has a small line to memorize as wise man #2. We also made it back to Bible Study this week and are continuing in the book of Acts.

It has been a busy week.

3 Little Pumpkins

2011-10-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

David the Robot, Angeline the Skunk and Samara the Butterfly

The kids had a great time tick or treating with their neighbourhood friends. I didn't manage to get a group picture of everyone but here we are before we started off from Joel & Nathan's. I had my hands full with 3 so it was really great having the extra hands around to help out. Thanks everyone!

Moving towards FIRST Steps...

2011-10-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peak

2011-10-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

It has been 1 1/2 weeks since our old kitchen got demolished to make way for our new kitchen. Last week we stayed at Mom & Dad's for a few night while the dust settled (so to speak). On the weekend Mom and Al were here to help and this week we have been settling in to life as we know it.
I am pretty much living in our basement with a makeshift kitchen set up on our folding table. It hasn't been too bad cooking in a microwave and toaster oven. Throw in the pancake grill, rice cooker and slow cooker along with a little imagination and it is amazing what you can come up with. I DO miss my oven but once the cupboards are installed that will get hooked up again. My back does get a little sore doing dished in the tub but I keep saying that I have nothing to complain about because i have an endless supply of clean, running water. Mostly I am just looking forward to everything getting put away, cleaned up and to having my husband back again. Jonathan continues to work around the clock giving 110% at work and at home. He IS amazing. Just thought I would share this sneak peak photo of our floor, cupboard, paint and counter samples... the picture gives you an idea anyway... the blue looks a bit different in person... will probably look a bit different on the wall too. Don't tell me if you don't like it... we've already bought everything! I look forward to blogging the finished project hopefully mid November.

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day for a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Grammy joined us for our adventure at Steveston Farm. We enjoyed a hay ride, live entertainment, farm animals, corn maze, fresh apples and chosing our own pumpkins straight from the patch. It was a really fun day. I didn't actually get a picture of David's pumpkin (in the picture I have he is holding up Samara's) but he is going to be measuring and weighing the pumpkins this week so I will try to get a picture of that. Now the countdown to Halloween is on... and then the countdown to Christmas begins.

6 years ago...

2011-10-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

October 10-13

2011-10-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

From our SSRW "All Aboard" Language Arts book we covered letters B, C & D p.23-46

This week for Math we covered Unit 7 (Number Recognition and Writing Numerals) and Unit 8 (Geometric Shapes:Triangles)

This is a picture of our classroom bulletin board. We talk about the months, days of the week, letter of the day, weather and it is also home to our Hundred Number Chart.

This week I introduced French to our weekly school time activities using a "Little Pim" DVD. "French In My Home" is number 4 of the series... introducing french words around the house... bed, toys, kitchen, couch, dog, cat, brother, sister... etc.

This week we read a LOT of library books. I am off to the library now to return some and borrow some more. I feel like each week we are more organized and settled into our routine. We haven't had much of a social life since School started but we are keeping really busy. Only 5 more weeks until 1st term is complete. If anyone has wanted to homeschool their children but felt overwhelmed at the thought I can say this... you can do kindergarten! I know I can do kindergarten (I should hope so) and we are taking it one year at a time.

October 2-6

2011-10-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

When I left off we were about to start our Sing, Spell, Read Write curriculum. I LOVE IT! But more importantly David LOVES IT! (Angeline and Samara love the phonics song and I had to make Angeline a copy of the mat so that she can follow along). In the picture below you can see David's train which moves along the track as he progresses through the SSRW "All Aboard" book. David was enjoying school before we started SSRW... now he can't wait to get started in the morning.

"All Aboard" has them write their name on each page, starts off with a variety of lessons... visual discrimination, following directions, alike and different, classification, complete the pattern, trace shapes, colouring, cutting, pasting.... everything! Then begins the alphabet. We had to start back at the letter A but I love the extensive instruction in the teacher video. David is learning everything from phonics to how to write each letter correctly... even simple things like holding his pencil the right way.

Math is continuing to go well. We completes units 5 and 6. Unit 6 involved counting how many circles match the pictured circle, circle and say the correct number. Each unit finishes up with a review.

We actually had a short week last week because there was no resource centre on Friday and my Dad was here for a visit. We did start school yesterday again when everyone was enjoying Thanksgiving but we did have our holiday last week.

September

2011-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

This was my attempt at getting a picture of the 3 kids together. Hopefully Charlie has better luck on the 15th!

One of those moments when David and Angeline were getting along so well. Not sure where they came up with the doubling idea but it works well on this tricycle.

Mmmm... we decided to buy a waffle maker. Chocolate waffles with strawberries and whipping cream. They were yummy! Samara thought so too but the pic we took of her and her first whip cream turned out blurry... we were probably laughing too hard.

Just thought I would add a few pics. We've been having lots of fun lately. We're getting serious about renovating our kitchen soon. We are very excited but we have to make a lot of decisions in the next week or so. I'm hoping we can get it together quick enough that we don't have to have to stove unhooked for too long. I will definitely blog before and after pictures once it is complete. Really not sure when that will be.

Week 3

2011-09-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

(Yes, David is still in his PJ's... that's another bonus to homeschooling!)

This week was all about the letter "C." David loves to practise his letters. Besides practising the letter of the week he also spends time practising each letter of the alphabet on his dry erase board. We have a handy one for numbers to so that he can practise those as well. He's been independently figuring out the first letter in many words as well as adding to his list of words he can spell from memory. We had to throw Cookie Monster in there because we often watch him on you tube singing C is for Cookie.

David is going through his math book so quickly. I have it divided into approximately one until per week and I am finding that we are already getting ahead of our lesson plan. He often finishes the lessons before I have time to photo copy the next ones. This week we did units 3E, 3F, 4A-F & 5A-D. Still focusing on counting 1-20... have to get those "teens" really ingrained into him.

Delta Library had a program that encourages reading to your kindergarten student. They have select books with special stickers "100 Books to Read in Kindergarten"... we began this summer and have read over 30 so far (plus probably another 15 that aren't included)... plus many of the books we have at home. We do story time every day. We also have to make sure to do 30 minutes of activity. Yesterday it was so nice out that we walked to the library (David rode... I pushed the girls in the double stroller) until we were almost at the library and the chain came off David's bike. Okay, I know I SHOULD know how to fix a chain on a bicycle but I had never had to before. So there I am pent over his bike clearly looking like I had no clue what I was doing. A kind man pulled up in his truck and asked if I needed help. I said "no thank you." He said "are you sure?" I said yes! Okay, I needed help but he was a stranger AND I didn't want to admit that I needed help. I did manage to get the chain back on but it was off again in less than 60 seconds. Needless to say it was a long walk home... uphill with a cranky baby and me... pushing 3 kids in my double stroller. To top it all off Angeline lost her shoe and forgot to tell me until 1 km later and it was surprisingly hot out yesterday.

We will be starting "Sing, Spell, Read, Write" on Monday

PS- Thanks Mrs. Van Breada for the planner... I am using it to keep a record of what we accomplish each day and I will scan it and e-mail you a copy.

9 1/2 Months

2011-09-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a very happy... and very MESSY Samara! She had her check up on Tuesday and weighs 16.5 pounds and measures 28 inches tall. She pulls herself up on anything and everything and sometimes lets go to practice standing but she has not attempted cruising as of yet. She has been saying Mama for a few months... particularly when I'm not around and she wants me but yesterday she said it to me for the first time so that was very special. Today she got her 7th tooth... I expect the 8th will follow shortly. Just had to share these precious pictures and give a quick update.

How We do Kindergarten

2011-09-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

Here's David on his first day of school. We started our homeschool adventure 2 weeks ago and he attends school on Fridays with other homeschool students. He's loving it... at home and at school.

David's been writing his name along with some other words for quite some time. For Language Arts we are making an Alphabet Book. Each week we talk about one of the letters of the alphabet... what sound it makes... what words start with that letter... we practice writing it... we draw pictures and find things around the house that begin with the letter of the week.
Our Language Arts Curriculum just arrived yesterday morning (it was backordered) so we are looking forward to using that as well. It is called "Sing,Spell,Read,Write" and it is Phonic based.

For Social Studies David is making a book all about him. We will be adding to it each week. He will be learning how to spell his middle names, last name... his address and phone number etc.

For Math we have chosen a curriculum called Math-U-See. Here are some examples of types of questions he covered in the first 2 weeks. The first picture is "cross out the wrong answer." The second one is "count and circle the correct answer. The third type of question is "colour the squares to show the correct number."

I will be blogging our homeschool journey weekly or by-weekly as a way to report our teacher and for anyone else who might be interested on how things are going and what we are up to. There are other subject that we cover as well and I am adding things weekly as adjust to our new routine. We are attending Bible Study Fellowship which is an interdenominational bible study and I am using the program for our Christian Studies... it includes a weekly memory verse as well.
http://www.bsfinternational.org/
I am also planning to teach David to speak French so we will be getting started on that in a few weeks.

Qualicum Beach

2011-09-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a few highlights from our trip to Qualicum beach. Had a great time there with Grandpa Brent and Aunty Mandy. Also stopped at Coombs on the way home... though we didn't see any goats on the roof. Would have loved to have spent more time on the sand but the tide came in. We'll have to do it again next year.

Fall Fair

2011-09-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

We spent a week on the Island at the beginning of the month. Took the kids to the Fall Fair... their first time at a fair. We weren't sure if David would go on the rides but he did without any hesitation! Angeline was first in line though she ended up being too short for most of the kids rides there. The fish ride was the only one we found that she was actually tall enough for (she enjoyed this one the most anyway) but we did manage to sneak her on a few other rides. Lots of rides, walking, cotton candy, farm animals, and dancing. We all had fun but it was about 34 degrees even though we went after dinner! It was a bit hot but who can complain when fall is about to set in and turn to winder. Great summer memories. Might have to go again next year. Thanks Nana & Papa!

9 Months

2011-09-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Getting Around

2011-08-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the a video of Samara's 1st time crawling forward (taken yesterday morning). I can't believe my baby is crawling (actually yes, I can believe it... I thought she was going to crawl a while ago already). Here she is yesterday morning as well, wearing her amber teething necklace. I am loving it so far and it seems to have minimized her discomfort while teething. I didn't have to give her any advil while her first eye tooth made its appearance this week. We are currently trying to figure out a safe way for her to wear it while sleeping. I tried looping it around her ankle and then putting a sleeper on but our baby houdini somehow managed to get it off her ankle, through her sleeper and into her hot little baby hands.

Nana spent the week with us and even though she just left yesterday we are missing her already. It was nice to have the company as well as the extra set of arms!

Angeline is potty trained and somehow manages to stay dry even on 3 hour shopping trips to Ikea and through the night. It is so nice to be down to 1 in diapers... now if I could just get her to behave in the bathroom instead of constantly getting into anything and everything. We currently have to keep the bathroom locked and let her in when she has to go which is not ideal but it save the toilet paper from being unrolled into the toilet (for the 10th time) as well as the floss from being unravelled and the hand soap being used as moisturizer... etc... etc... she turns 2 1/2 in September so hopefully this is a stage she will outgrow soon.

Here is a silly one of David in his VBS Panda shirt. He spent the last week at VBS (Vacation Bible School) learning a lot, having lots of fun and even memorizing 4 bible verses from Psalm 134. We are still waiting for our main kindergarten curriculum to ship... there have been some issues with it being backordered... but we are looking forward to beginning our homeschool journey in September with Kindergarten!

Jonathan and I are doing well. I think we are starting to find a balance in the business of raising a baby, toddler and big kid. We have accepted the fact that our "to do" list is never going to get done. Instead we are focusing on our "must do" list and spending the rest of the time enjoying our family at this stage we are at. In our "spare" time we are planning for a new kitchen and possibly adding on to our house.

Samara is 8 months old today!

2011-08-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

S.A.M (Samara Anne Marie) is 8 months old. I have not been taking any pictures lately so there are only a few to show sort of what she's been up to... took so many while we were away and then almost none since we have been home. Anyway she's a pro at sitting now and moves to and from a crawling position when sitting. She wiggles around the house and gets up on her hands and knee's but she's not officially crawling yet. She was a bit slow to start solid foods... gaged the most out of my kids so far until I discovered that she just doesn't like baby food. Now she's eating rice, potato, carrot chunks, apple, banana, naan bread, etc! She continues to be my best sleeper though she is cutting her 4th tooth at the moment and so is a bit grumpy about that. We could have easily named her JOY... she is such a happy baby... we all love her to bits. In celebration of her 8 month birthday she decide to start "blowing" today... not zerberts... just blowing air as if she were blowing out a candle... I guess she is getting ready for her 1st birthday which is coming in just 4 months time!

Thursday Night

2011-07-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night Angeline was climbing from one arm of the couch to the other arm of the other couch and she fell off. Normally when she hurts herself she might complain for 5 seconds and then she is back to doing whatever it was that hurt her to begin with. Thursday was a different story. After she fell she started screaming and grabbed her arm and would not let go. I was upstairs nursing Samara.. about 6:30 pm and Jonathan yelled for me to come and look at Angeline's arm... he thought it might be broken. You couldn't see anything but we could tell that it was hurting more then a typical bump on the arm... Jonathan wrapped it and I held my hand under it but if it moved at all she was back to screaming in pain. She would not move her fingers. We decided to take her to Children's Hospital... (thanks Carolyne for the advice and Grammy for babysitting the other 2) got there at 7:50pm and waited until about 11:30pm for a room... waited probably 45 more minutes before we saw the doctor... then went for xrays and got the cast right after that... leaving the hospital around 1:30am. After stopping at McDonalds we went to pick up the other 2 and got home around 3pm.
After less then 3 hours sleep (and a whole previous week of going to bed late) yesterday was a little challenging. David is wanting more attention... Angeline is still wanting to do things all by herself even with only one functioning arm and Samara is continuing to teeth (turned 7 months old yesterday). All in we are all doing well.
We were supposed to hear more about what type of break after a specialist saw the xrays yesterday but have not received a phone call yet (maybe Monday). The xrays showed damage at her elbow and above her wrist). She will be sporting her lovely pink cast for 4-6 weeks.
Sorry if these pictures come up small... I took them off of facebook. More pictures to follow.

God Keep Our Land!

2011-07-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

David's 5th Birthday Party

2011-07-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

David celebrated his 5th birthday with 5 friends on June 13th. It was his first "drop off" party as well as his first small party and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. Small and simple... he chose the theme in May... "Mommy... I want to have a Dog party with a chocolate dog cake"... with Aunty Mandy's help I was able to run with his idea. We played "Simon Says"... doggie style (bark, roll over, sit...etc), made dog puppet goodie bags, played "pin the tail on the dog" and decorated the house with paw prints. As you can probably tell from the photographs David had a wonderful day.

"The Dance"

2011-07-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

I wasn't quite sure what to title this post and Canuck Fever has long since burned out then I thought to call it "The Dance"... after the song.... "I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance". It wasn't very much fun loosing the Stanley Cup but here are a few pictures taken during the excitement of the playoffs... Jonathan grew a beard for 2 months and Samara almost didn't recognize him when he shaved... we painted out window with a huge Canucks logo and we even ate blue and green jello. It was fun while it lasted. I also couldn't believe that it had been 17 years since our last Stanley Cup finals... I distinctively remember it and I was in Grade 5... it can't have been 17 years since I was in grade 5! It was a good year.

Samara's Dedication, Father's Day

2011-07-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

This Year Father's Day was even more special because we also celebrated Samara's Dedication.

(Melissa) Samara, our fourth child and daughter number two I hope you never feel second best or last in line. Even before you were conceived in my womb you were conceived in my heart and my love for you has been growing ever since. As I think back 6 months to the day you were born it seems like just yesterday. You hold the record for most quickly named child (in our household)… only moments after your birth. I looked over to your daddy and said "her name is Samara Anne Marie" and that was that. SAMARA means God-led ; protected by God and our prayer for you is that you would entrust your life to God and seek to do His will.

(Jonathan) On fathers day I am reminded of how blessed I am with the children God has given me. Samara you are so precious and as you grow and explore the world around you I can't help but wish that time would stand still and that we can enjoy your smiles and innocence forever. You are patient, gentle and fun… adding so much love and joy to our family. The verses we have chosen for your dedication come from Psalm 143 (v. 8-10). We dedicate these verses to you as well as to ourselves as we strive to raise you in a way that brings glory to God.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
   for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
   for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, LORD,
   for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
   lead me on level ground.

Monkey Bars

2011-06-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a video taken today of David completing the monkey bars. He has never done them before... it only occurred to me as he was doing them that there are no monkey bars at the parks we usually take him too. I know he will be 5 at the end of the month... this just made him seem so much more grown up to me.

David's 1st trip without us

2011-05-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Friday night I packed David's suitcase and began the preparations to send my first born off on his first trip without mommy or daddy. He's had sleep overs before including two nights at Nana & Papa's but I took him there and was staying with my Dad close by so this was harder for me. He was so excited, even called Grammy Friday night to see what time she would be coming to get him in the morning. Saturday morning he woke up and said "I'm going to Shuswap today." He did say he was going to miss me but was definitely looking forward to his time at the Lake.
Saturday morning while he was getting ready Angeline tried to pack her toothbrush with his. He told her "Your not coming Angie" and she said "I'm not coming?"... as they were pulling away she pouted and said that she wanted to go too.
Looking forward to seeing him later today and to hearing all about his adventures. He is going to be 5 at the end of June and it seems lately that he is becoming such a little grown up. The other day when Jonathan telling him not to do something he said "I was just teasing you Daddy." At Costco last week when we were in the refrigerated produce section he took off his vest and put it over Angeline because it was cold. He certainly knows how to look out for his sisters. He is my sweet little man.

Sunday Girls Day

2011-05-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday was girls day... just the girls. David is on his way home today from spending the weekend at the lake and Daddy was working... is working today and will be home tomorrow. As much fun as it is having some girl time we are ready for our boys to come home. Wanted to share a few fun pictures from our day.

I am definitely missing my boys but one thing I haven't been missing over the weekend is SLEEP. I am happy to say that Samara has slept until 4:30am the last 2 nights. She NEVER goes that long without nursing so to have 2 nights in a row is a breakthrough. She is my best sleeper so far. Angeline has been doing a bit better at night too so hopefully that continues as well.

May Days

2011-05-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

My Babies!

Baby Chicks... no they're not ours but with the amount of eggs we've been going through it might be a good idea to get chickens!

David watering his carrots... asked him to water them a few days later and he said "AGAIN!"... guess he thought they would grow themselves.

Stunt Boy David... if I would have know he was scootering on the retaining wall I would have told him to put on his helmet!

5 going on 6 months

2011-05-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Samara's 5th month is nearing an end and I am overdue for an update. Near the end of her 4th month she began rolling over from back to front and has been on the move ever since. She now plays with toys, sits in her bumbo and exersaucer as well as jumps in her jolly jumper. We are thinking to start her on some rice cereal soon since she is becoming more and more interested in food. She often grabs my plate when I have her on my lap while I am eating. She absolutely loves her red ball. David and Angeline have been paying a lot more attention to her this last month and she adores them. We are anticipating the arrival of her first tooth... she is definately teething at the moment. Her schedule is a lot more defined... she usually has 2 big naps... morning and afternoon. Her favorite song is "Samara had a little lamb." We love her to bits.

Playoff Beard

2011-05-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

April 30

May 27

Baptism Pictures

2011-05-10T10:23:00.001-07:00

Aquarium, April 30

2011-05-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Easter Bunny & Egg Hunt

2011-04-26T11:41:00.001-07:00

My Baptism Testimony

2011-04-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

My name is Melissa Neufeld. Some of you know me as Jonathan’s wife, and God has truly blessed me with an amazing husband and a wonderful marriage. Some of you know me as David, Noah, Angeline and Samara’s mom (or the crazy lady who had 4 children in 5 years). Despite severe sleep deprivation and a house that is never tidy I have been truly blessed by through motherhood as well. But the reason I stand before you today is because I am a daughter, not only of my earthly parents (whom I love deeply) but also of my heavenly Father… your sister in Christ.

Believing in God is not something new to me. In fact I can not remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. Going to church on the other hand was not something that was a regular part of my life growing up. I did attend enough to know what church was and to learn some bible stories. I also have memories of praying when I was quite a young child. Believing in God has always been part of who I am so much so that I can honestly say believing there is no god requires much more faith to me then believing THERE IS.

I have had many turning points in my 28 years of life and though I can not name an exact date I would say that I became a Christian when I was about 16 years old. At this point I was regularly attending church and youth group, reading my bible daily and just growing in my understanding of God. I would have to describe my conversion to be when my believing faith transformed into faith in action. I accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (which we are celebrating this Easter Sunday), experienced healing and reconciliation through the acknowledgement and forgiveness of my sins and made a decision to live for God’s purposes rather than my own.

So, why wasn’t I baptized then?

All of this took place in and surrounding the Catholic Church I was part of, baptized into when I was a baby. There was no reason for me to even think to be baptized at that point in my faith journey. As I continued on in my teenage years I also attended a Baptist church and youth group and eventually associated myself more as a “Christian” not wanting to chose a denomination as a title be it “Catholic” or “Baptist.” Whenever baptism came up I felt uneasy and I have never been comfortable with the idea of re-baptism BUT I always said that if God spoke to my heart to be baptized as an adult that I would. It was in February of this year that I was driving in my mini van with my beautiful children… listening to “Praise” on the radio in just an ordinary moment that God’s Spirit spoke. So here I am.

God has been at work in my heart and in my life and has been convicting me of what I came to know so many years ago. I believe that God is calling me to be obedient to his word through baptism and in my everyday life.

1 John 2:5-6 says:

“If anyone obeys his word, love for God^[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

This truth is something I can not escape from. I am reminded of it as I listen to the chorus of this song by Casting Crowns (If We Are The Body).

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

I want to raise my children to know “There is a way”… to know that God loves them… to know that sin separates them from God. To know that Jesus is God’s son who’s death on the cross is THE WAY to make atonement for our sins and to reconcile us to God. I know that seeing me love God, obey His Word and live like Christ will teach them these truths more then hearing it from my lips.

As I publicly proclaim my faith I am making a commitment to be obedient to God’s word and to live like Christ.

Easter Baptism

2011-04-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

I (Melissa) decided in February that I would like to be baptized as an adult (was already baptized when I was a baby). We have set the date for Easter Sunday during the 11am service at Bethany Baptist Church in Richmond. Easter is a busy time filled with family events and dinners and many will be away or simply unable to attend but I wanted to get the word out in case anyone wanted to come. I will be posting my testimony on Easter Sunday for those who can't make it but are interested in reading what it is all about. If you are interested in coming and need more information please contact me.

Spring Break

2011-03-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Not a lot changes for us during Spring Break... other then some of our usual activities are cancelled. But this years Spring Break was a Break from the rain and a visit with my sister. Aunty Mandy spent the week with us and it was nice having the extra hands and someone to walk with in the afternoons. We walked 5km almost every day that she was here. I think I really needed the company and the sunshine this week. I was certainly glad to have both. I was also glad to be able to hang the cloth diapers outside... I thought this day would never come!

After 2 nice days in a row Angeline woke up yesterday, looked outside and said "It's grey outside... Go away Grey!" Today we have blue skies again. Looking forward to being able to do the dishes while they play in the yard and to spending some time in the sun as well.

Our big Girl & Our baby Girl

2011-03-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

March is always a busy month in our family for birthdays. Grandpa Rob turned 50 this month, I celebrated my 28th, Samara is now 3 months old and Angeline turned 2 on Monday. Still more March birthdays to come. We were able to celebrate during our time on the Island as well as since we've been home. Angeline has LOVED all the extra attention as you can probably tell from this picture of her with her cup cake. She spent a good part of her birthday singing "Happy Birthday" to herself... very cute.
Samara LOVES to talk anytime anyone is willing to listen and now gives very big smiles as you can also see from the picture. She isn't full out laughing but she had a little laughing noise that you can tell is a laugh. She hasn't rolled over as of yet but she pulls her arms into her chest and lifts her head like she is going to. At 3 months she weighs 11 lbs 5 oz.
Jonathan and I are LOVING our family. It was nice to be able to go to the Island together and for Jonathan to have a bit of time off work.
I am especially looking forward to some warmer, sunnier days... finding the rain and the cold a bit much at the moment.

Family Photo

2011-02-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

It was definitely time to update our family picture. We were able to do this on Sunday thanks to Tony. Jonathan took pictures of the Mitchell's and Tony took pictures of us. These are our 4 favorites. Which one is your favorite??? Thanks again Tony!

Not a Newborn anymore...

2011-02-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

Samara is now 10 weeks old and it was just over a week ago that she moved from newborn to baby. She started smiling and cooing and just staying awake more in general. She had her first shots at 9 weeks old and weighed 10 lbs 3oz last Friday. She is between the 25th and 50th percentile. Had to share this adorable video of some of her first coo's... it melts our hearts! We love her to bits... she make me want 2 more!

A Beautiful Day

2011-02-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Before & After

2011-01-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pictures to show how much progress has been made. Tomorrow the grout will go in and then hopefully Saturday it will be sealed and my new washer and dryer moved in and hooked up! I think we might have to have a party to celebrate!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-01-25T20:56:00.000-08:00

We are certainly BUSY x3. Not only do we have a 7 week old baby but we are also undergoing major renovations. Jonathan and Bob have been working on adding a bathroom to our basement. It has been a long process... beginning in September (and I have not had a washer and dryer hooked up since then). And I am very happy to say that it is almost complete! This means that not only has Jonathan been working long hours at work but he has been coming home and working late on the bathroom and then getting up early the next morning for work. I don't know how he does it but I am very thankful that he is a hard worker and I am proud of him for what he has learned and accomplished with Bob's help (THANK YOU BOB)! I just wanted to post some more pictures of Samara and one of Angeline being silly. I hope to post the before and after pictures of the bathroom addition soon.

Our creative son...

2011-01-22T21:38:00.000-08:00

This is a video that David took of himself spinning.

Look away if you get motion sickness :P

5 weeks already!

2011-01-12T13:59:00.000-08:00

My little Samara is 5 weeks old already. Between Christmas and us all being sick into early January the time since her birth has certainly gone by fast. She had a check up at the doctors yesterday and she is doing well, weighing 8 pounds and 15 ounces. She slept a lot at first but we now enjoy more awake time with her. David and Angeline love to lay beside her and hold her hands. This months tasks include getting used to taking all 3 kids out on my own and thus getting back to our regular scheduled programing. I am also hoping to get Samara sleeping in her crib and sleeping for longer periods during the night. We should probably work on getting a family picture of the 5 of us as well.
The plan is to have our basement bathroom reno's completed this month and that keeps Jonathan quite busy between work and work at home. It is almost ready for some paint and then a floor. I CAN'T WAIT until it is finished.
Looking forward to hopefully going for some walks when we have some sunny days. I normally find January to be quite long so I am both happy and surprised that it is almost half way over. I am hoping for an early Spring this year!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2010-12-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from us all! We had a nice Christmas this year with family celebrations on the 18th, 25th, 26th & 27th! It has been a special Christmas celebrating with our newest addition Samara. On the other hand it has been a difficult Christmas as we have all had a bad cold. David and Angeline started us off and are now mostly recovered and Jonathan, Samara and myself are still on the mend.

I did manage to get some Christmas cards out before Samara was born... still have a few to send. I think I should have stuck with my original idea and just sent Happy New Year cards this year. Oh well! Nothing "eventful" planned for 2011 so far but certainly lots to enjoy and keep us busy. We are working more and more with David to get him ready for Home Schooling Kindergarden in September. We have plans to potty train Angeline in the Spring... she does occasionally pee for a smarty when she is thinking of it. I am hoping to start walking more often as the weather improves and running some too in the next couple of months. Jonathan is really enjoying photography at the moment and there is a link to his new blog under our blog list. And Samara... what can I say about our little Samara? Hmmm... if you asked my a few days ago I would say that she is our best sleeper so far (I think she might be going through a growth spurt at the moment as well as battling her first cold). She is a very "easy" baby... always happy unless she is hungry. She poops a lot! And she also is a spitter! Not all the time but when she does you won't miss this.... apparently she gets this from Daddy. She is quiet so far but I am sure this will change as she learns to compete with her brother and sister. We are looking forward to watching them all as they continue to grow throughout the new year!

No official family picture since the one we took at the hospital but I thought I would post the two we have of the 3 kids together. Happy New Year!

Samara is 1 week old today!

2010-12-15T19:00:00.000-08:00

When Jonathan came home from work today we set up a little photo shoot for Samara's one week birthday. All of these pictures were taken this afternoon. She did very well and once we were done she was ready for another nap. She does spend most of her time sleeping as most new borns do. She is also having more awake time and more time with her eyes open every day and she has started gaining weight again after her initial loss (which is normal). At the doctors yesterday she was back up to 6lbs 14oz. Her hair is dark but it we will have to keep guessing as David started out dark as well. Her eyes seem blue... David's we could tell from day one were going to be brown but she may surprise us with that as well. I couldn't ask for a "better" baby... she gives me 5-6 hours of sleep a night and is never fussy unless she has to wait for a meal. Our cuddle time is precious but I think mommy is being shared rather well.

I also wanted to say congratulations to Uncle Ches for winning the baby pool. He was the only one to guess the right date and he got the gender right too! Good job! And thanks to everyone who guessed.

Sunday's Christmas Play

2010-12-15T18:47:00.000-08:00

Just a few pictures of David and Angeline in the Christmas Play on Sunday. Neither one of them ran off in tears so I think they did pretty good. Maybe in a few years Angeline will get the part for the Christmas Star. David wasn't too excited about it but he does like to perform... maybe he will be more into it next year.

Welcoming Samara

2010-12-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

Welcoming Samara Anne Marie Neufeld

Born on December 8th, 2010 at 1:42pm

Weighing 7lbs 6ozs and Measuring 20 1/4" in length

Does mommy look like she's had a rough delivery?

I don't think so!

Here's how it went...

9 hours of pre-labor on November 28th (3 cm)

I told her to wait until I got home from work before she was allowed to go into labor

Labor started 11:15pm (when I got home) December 7th

Dropped off kid-lets at Mom & Dads at 3:00am December 8th

Thanks Mom and Dad for watch your grand babies while we got a new one...

Arrived at the hospital where contractions slowed around 3:30am (4 cm)

Contractions slowed further after moving into a delivery suite a few hours later

Doc broke her water to help move things along around 8am

Contractions stopped (4 cm)

Oxytocin started at 10am to help induce labor

Contractions started again and grew quite quickly in pain and duration

Around 12pm pain was becoming quite intense and lots of progress was made (7 cm)

Transition. Enough said... (8 cm)

1:10pm Pushing through 9 cm and leftover membrane covering Samara's head

1:10-1:40pm asking for every drug known to mankind

1:42pm a glorious arrival of a beautiful baby and a glowing mother...

1:42:30pm Surprised to find out that our boy is a girl!

1:42:31pm Happy anyways!

David giving Samara his kiss of approval

His most notable comment was 'You did a good-job Mommy!'

Angeline pointing out that its a baby!

Her most notable comment was 'Baby!'

One bigger happy family!

Finally at home sweet home with our new arrival.

David and Angeline have been fighting over who holds Samara.

They are both very excited about Samara,

although Angeline seems worried that this baby is going to stay for some time.

Posted By One Proud Father and Husband

P.S. I love you so much Melissa, you make me so proud.

P.P.S. Stop trying to make me cry with all these beautiful moments, its embarrassing :)...

Jonathan's Work Kids Christmas Party (Yesterday)

2010-12-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

Angeline LOVED the bouncy castles and finally convinced her brother that it was safe to join her!

Chocolate Pudding

This Week...

2010-11-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

First snow experience.

First Hair Cut

One night when they insisted on sleeping in the same bed.

Yesterday Angeline had her first hair cut and she did very well. After hair cuts were done we all played in the snow a bit while Jonathan shoveled the drive way and then we had hot chocolate. It has rained since so the road is slushy and icy. Being stuck at home has not been so bad as we have been able to continue to get things checked of the list. I think baby is waiting until we are "ready" for him to arrive. Maybe we will do some Christmas decorating when Jonathan gets home. 36 weeks pregnant yesterday and my next doctors appointment is Tuesday.

35 Weeks

2010-11-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

We are 35 weeks pregnant and the weeks are finally going by quickly... a little too quickly. I can't wait to hold this little one in my arms (not to mention have him out of my stomach) but there is still so much to do. Yesterday we got the baby car seat out and moved David and Angeline's chairs to the back of the van. I have to wash the car seat cover, the baby clothes and blankets. I am packed for the hospital finally! Some of you may think it is too early to pack but my doctor told me that baby will likely be here in 2 more weeks (I'm hoping he's a good guesser). We could have a November baby after all but I am still thinking December. That being said the baby pool is closed! Thanks to everyone who put a guess in.

I'm doing really well... just exhausted and wondering how I am going to get my house ready in time for baby's arrival and Christmas but what gets done gets done and the rest will just have to wait.

David enjoying his Halloween Candy...

2010-11-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

Baby Pool

2010-11-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Counting down the days until baby's arrival we thought it would be fun to invite everyone to guess about baby's birth date, time, weight, and gender. You can "vote" Boy or Girl on the side bar (please only vote once) and we would love for you to leave your more detailed guess in a comment or an e-mail to us with your name and we will publish your guess on this post.

Hints: We are due December 23 and I have not made it to my due date so far. David was 1 week early, Noah was 3 weeks early and Angeline was 2 weeks early.

Start guessing!

Melissa (Mama)... Dec 9, 2AM, 7lbs 7oz, BOY!

Jonathan (Daddy)... Dec 9, 6AM, 7lbs, BOY!

Lauren & Brent (Aunty & Uncle)...Nov 30,9PM, 7lbs 2oz, BOY

Karen (Grammy)... Dec 7, 6PM, 6lbs 14oz GIRL

Evelyn (Great-Grantma)... Dec 13, 10:20AM, 7lbs, BOY

Janet (Great-Aunt)... Dec 13, 10:20AM, 6lbs 10oz, GIRL

Shawna J... Dec 18,7:30PM, 8lbs, BOY

Conor J... Dec 23, 12PM, 7lbs, BOY

Margaret L... Dec 23, 7:30 AM, 7lbs 12oz GIRL

Linda L... Dec 14, 7lbs 2oz, BOY

Carol (Nana)... Dec 12, 5:37AM, 7lbs 14oz, GIRL

Margaret (Oma)... Dec 14, 5:30AM, 7lbs 10oz, BOY

Brent (Grandpa)... Dec 7, 2:30PM, 6lbs 2 oz, BOY

Shelley... Nov 28, 3:30AM, 6lbs 7oz, BOY

Mandy (Aunty)... Dec 5, 11PM, 7lbs 2 oz, BOY

Rob (Grandpa)... Dec 10, 8:10PM, 7lbs, BOY

Anne (Great-Grandma)... Dec 4, 7:30AM, 6lbs 10oz, GIRL

Abe (Great-Grandpa)... Dec 14, 6lbs 5oz, GIRL

Theresa... Dec 5, 8PM, 7lbs 2oz, BOY

Linda (Great-Aunt)... Dec 10, 5PM, 7lbs, BOY

Ches (Great-Uncle)... Dec 8, 8AM, 6lbs 8oz, GIRL

Christina M... Dec 10, 10:30PM, 7lbs 8oz, BOY

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. I don't have the ones from the Canon loaded onto the computer yet. In the morning we went to Bear Creek Park and went on the Halloween Train. David remembered going last year and requested Halloween morning that we go again. This is where they made the Pumpkin hats.

Grandma came with us to the park and then we brought her to the ferry afterwards. She was visiting for the week and helping me out with the kids, making dinner and doing dishes. I really appreciated all the help and the kids are missing her now.

I took David out Halloween night and Jonathan stayed home to hand out candy. Angeline stayed home too because she has been really grumpy lately! David trick or treated with some friends for about an hour and a half (running from house to house) and then we had a nice visit at Breedvelds. It was such a warm evening. On our walk home it was sprinkling and was a bit colder. It was too late to get more candy but we did get to watch some fire works as we were walking up our street. It was a really fun night!

Stampin Up Club Night

2010-10-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

In March I signed up to be a Demonstrator for Stampin Up... selling stamps and supplies for card making, hand made gifts and scrap booking. From April-October I ran my first set of Club Nights, learned a lot and had a great time making projects with the lovely set of ladies who joined me for my first Club.

I am currently "recruiting" for my second series of Club Nights which will run from January-July 2011. We will be meeting at my house on the second Tuesday of the month beginning January 9th. I have 3 spots available for anyone who might be interested.

I am hosting a "Trial Club Night" on Tuesday, November 9th at 7pm for anyone who is interested in more information about becoming a Club Member. This will be a fun opportunity to come and see what a Club Night is all about. Please let me know if you would like to attend this Trial Club so that I can ensure there are enough projects prepared for everyone attending and please feel free to invite your friends. There is no cost for the Trail Club Night.

What does being a "Club Member" mean?
When you sign up to be a Club Member you are committing to 7 months of learning and fun. Each month I will demonstrate new projects using new techniques. Each month Club members will re-create these projects (I provide the supplies) and take them home. It is lots of fun and it is always nice to have a night out!

Club Members commit to making a monthly order of $30 for the duration of the club ($30/month for 7 months), you chose what you would like to order from any of the 3 current catalogues. Each Club member will have a turn "hosting" a Club month and receiving the hostess benefits from that months order (like when you have a home party). This includes a hostess stamp set and $20 or more in free products of your choice.

I am looking forward to Stampin Up Club 2011 and I can't wait to see who will be joining me this year.

31 weeks

2010-10-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

At 31 weeks pregnant I would much rather have this baby in my arms then in my belly but as you can see from this picture the kids are having a fun time with it. They like to put stickers on my belly and give me "raspberries"... David likes lifting up my shirt and saying to who ever might be over "this is our baby." Angeline thinks that everyone has a baby in their tummy including Daddy and herself. Today I am tired. At the end of the day my feet hurt. I can still see my toes but I am sure it is only a matter of time before they are gone too. When Baby gets here I think David and Angeline are going to miss my belly and I would not be surprised at all if they ask me to put him back.

Celebrating 5 years

2010-10-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

On October 15th we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. It's really an anniversary weekend for us because we got married 1 day before our 1 year dating anniversary. On Saturday my mom came and watched the kids (thanks mom!) and we went to the absolute spa at the century. After our relaxing Spa day we went for a walk (the weather was beautiful, just like the day of our wedding), had a nice dinner and then spent the night at the Century hotel. It was nice to have some uninterrupted time together.

I'm very thankful for my wonderful husband and our children. I can't wait to meet our newest addition. I look forward to the the rest of our life together... however many years God gives us and yes, if I could go back 5 years I would say it again... "I do!"

30 weeks pregnant

Lolly Pop Cookies!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-10T09:51:00.000-07:00

BC LIONS

2010-10-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Jonathan and myself at my first foot ball game. Saturday we had the chance to watch the Lions win a game. It was a last minute sort of thing as we were given some free tickets but I am really glad we were able to go. Always nice to have a "date." Mom and Dad watched the kids for us two nights in a row this weekend as we had dinner with friends on Sunday as well. Nice to get out a bit just the 2 of us before baby comes... though we are very much looking forward to his (or her) arrival. 80 more days until we are due... 29 weeks pregnant on Thursday.

27 weeks... 3rd Trimester!

2010-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of our third trimester and I am definitely excited that the end is in sight. Still 91 days until our due date but we are hoping for a birthday baby, two weeks early on December 9th. Baby weighs about 2lbs and is about 14 1/2 inches tall. I keep changing my mind but Jonathan and I are both currently thinking that it's a boy. With Angeline moved into David's room I can begin to organize baby's stuff so that we can be ready boy or girl. Baby is very active and I enjoy his company every night when I lay down and it's his party time. I'm definitely feeling the pains of pregnancy. If I am sitting on the floor with the kids it can be quite challenging to get up. You might find me bent over... I'm not looking for my contact lens.... sometimes it just takes me a minute to straighten out. I have started going for pregnancy massage so that is always nice and it helps keep me moving a little more comfortably.

(Sorry for the headless picture but hopefully you all remember what I look like and can use your imagination. It's the belly that people have been wondering about anyway).

18 months

2010-09-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Angeline is now 18 months (for about a week). We have noticed a huge "jump" in her development. Besides sleeping in a toddler bed, sharing a room with her big brother and giving up her soother she is now talking even more. She recently started repeating words. You can get her to say pretty much anything and we are finding some of the words she has been saying for a long time are improving as well. I'm sure she will be talking in sentences by Christmas. She also has started to be particular about what she wants and does not want to wear and wants to do it herself (but she still needs help). And today she took apart her first truck... and I think she beat her brother on this one... he was probably closer to two (same truck though). Maybe by the time she is 5 she will be able to change the oil for me.

Life has seemed a bit more difficult with the kids lately. Angeline gets into everything but mostly it is probably just the fact that Jonathan hasn't been feeling well and I am just getting more and more pregnant!Also I am glad to be rid of the soother but I do miss it from time to time (now there is nothing to keep her quiet)! Still takes her bottle and LOVES her milk but we have transitioned her from goats milk to homo just to save a bit of money (and we needed to pay for our new king size bed somehow).

Adventure Challenge-Race Day

2010-09-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 11th my Mom and Jonathan's Dad participated in and COMPLETED the Adventure challenge. It was a very difficult race starting out in Kayaks, then biking and hiking through difficult trails. Mom completed the "short" course in 4.5 hours and Dad completed the long course in 6.5... together they raised over $4000 for Canuck Place Children's Hospice and we are very proud of them for their accomplishments!

Because they started at different times they actually finished together which was special for us as we waited at the finnish line and they both came running down the last stretch wearing their matching shirts with Noah's picture on the front. It was a fun day... we waited for them at every start and finish of the 3 elements and in between there were hot dogs, face painting, snow cones and a playground for the kids to amuse themselves at.

Here are a few pictures as promised... sorry they aren't in order but it gives you an idea anyway.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO MADE DONATIONS IN NOAH"S MEMORY!

Big Girl Bed

2010-09-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Angeline's first day in her big girl bed. We were busy this morning arranging David's room so that they can share. It works out the David is having a sleepover with his grandparents so she can get used to her bed on her own. Hopefully it will go well when David is here tomorrow night. I know they are probably going to want to play and not go to sleep.

Angeline will be 18 months on the 14th. This is about the age that David started getting out of his crib and she is a better climber (if you can imagine) so it was time for a change. Also this way they have lots of time to get used to it before baby arrives. And we have a king size bed coming on Tuesday so we can now work on getting our double bed into Angeline's old room and then getting our room ready for the King. Not sure where we are going to put the baby???

Meet Our Fish

2010-09-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

At the end of July we set up Jonathan's 40 gallon fish tank and began preparing it for fish once again. We introduced some live plants and then a bunch of different fish in about 3 stages. For the most part they have all done well. It's amazing how much we all enjoy sitting and watching them. Here are some picks taken with our underwater camera.

Freddie, Freida & Stripe

We also have a yellow gourami, 5 red fish, 12 small tetra's as well as Charlie & Waldo who keep our tank clean and a bunch of snails that are already multiplying. I have the types of fish written on a piece of paper which I of coarse can't find at the moment! We are really enjoying them though and we have only had 3 deaths.

Canuck Place 15 Year Anniversary & Family Party

2010-08-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday we all went to the annual Canuck Place family BBQ which was also celebrating their 15 year anniversary. We had a great Family day at Vandusen Gardens. Angeline's highlight was the bubble machine... she would migrate to it whenever we put her down saying "bubbles...bubbles!" David's favorite was probably meeting Fin and high fiving the Superman Smart Bread Sandwich guy (large piece of bread walking around in red boots and a cape). Jonathan's highlight was probably the photo booth and the walk around the gardens. I enjoyed just being out the 4 of us. It really was an amazing day with lots of smiles and a few tears as well. As a young girl sang on stage in her wheel chair I couldn't help but be sad that I wasn't able to continue to witness Noah's accomplishments. Still I am very thankful for the role Canuck Place has played in Noah's life and continues to play in ours.

I've mentioned before that my mom and Jonathan's dad will be participating in the Adventure Challenge on September 11th to help raise money for this wonderful organization if anyone feels led to make a donation there is a link on the Canuck Place website for the Adventure Challenge.

Pizza!

2010-08-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Creativity

2010-08-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would write a quick post capturing the kids creativity. David made this Lego "town" all by himself. He also took a picture of himself which I thought was really cute. And Angeline just loves to do anything to mimic her big brother. She will sit and draw much longer then he did when he was 17 months (might be a girl thing too).

Today has been a bit of a challenge for me. I have been teaching David about "privileges." No TV, Gum, Dessert, or Computer if he doesn't co-operate. All I want him to do is help me pick up a few toys in the living room but it is proving to be a long day. Yesterday Angeline and I ate freezies in front of him because he wouldn't touch his lunch. I mad home made macaroni and cheese and he told me it was "bad." There are lots of cute things he does too like before going to bed he tells me "Mommy, I want to give you my kiss." He also has very cute bed time prayers.

Anyway, meeting Jonathan at the mall later to see if we can get a Queen size mattress and bed. We have officially run out of room in our Double. Starting to plan renovations to turn our basement laundry room into a second bathroom. We were talking about moving our bed room downstairs before baby is born but for now we will just focus on the bathroom and not try to get too far ahead of ourselves... I am getting a bit STRESSED!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer... looks like September is almost here!

19 Week Ultrasound

2010-08-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

Had our 19 week ultrasound today... we are actually 20 weeks on Thursday. Everything went well. Baby is healthy. The technician asked us if we wanted to find out the gender before we started and we painfully said NO! We do want to know of course but we just can't let go of that anticipated moment at birth when the announcement is made. We got 4 nice pictures of Sugar Plum... these two were our favorites. Got to see baby moving lots. I have not been feeling Baby move much because the placenta is currently at the front... different then any of my other pregnancies.

I am feeling very relieved that everything looks great and happy that we are half way through this pregnancy. Now I am just counting down until we get to meet the newest addition to our family. I can't wait!

Angeline & the Slide

2010-07-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Can you believe she is only 16 months old?

Shuswap Lake Part I

2010-07-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

We got back from our summer holidays at Shuswap Lake yesterday afternoon. We are still working on putting a few things away and settling in back at home. We had a wonderful vacation and great weather but it is always nice to be at home and I must say it felt good to sleep in my own bed!

During our week at Shuswap Angeline (16months old) said 7 new words... "bath, cookie, cracker, oh-oh, grandpa, go (can't remember the other one right now)."

David enjoyed rowing the dingy (which he does well), taking the dog for a walk, ridding his scooter down the hill, and driving grandpa's boat.

They both loved all the watermelon and extra desserts and playing peek-a-bo in between the tubes.

Jonathan and I enjoyed the extra hands to help out with the kids (3 sets of grandparents, 2 uncles and 1 aunt), the food, the chance to play a few games of settlers and mexican train and the time to visit with everyone. We also went mini golfing with David for the first time and his uncles and auntie and had ice-cream which is always a favorite. We also drove to Vernon on Monday to visit my Great-Grandpa.

I plan to post some more pictures and maybe a video or two... thus titling this post "Part I."

How does your garden grow?

2010-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

I have been finding a bit more time lately to work on the garden. I have definitely had to water more often now that summer is here. This morning I took some pictures before I watered just to give you an idea of how our garden is growing. We also have some tomato plants but they aren't doing too well this year... not sure if we will get any big tomatoes. We have rasberries which have started and blueberries (no berries yet). We also have parsley and dill and we have already harvested and eaten our radishes. I planted some things too early I think that never grew including zucchini which is supposed to be easy (and I love zucchini). Next year I want to try broccoli because it is supposed to be delicious when home grown. I am learning lots and having fun and the kids like it too. There is only ever one ripe strawberry on our bush at a time because he always checks and eats them (but that's what they are for). I am hoping to get out some more soon, let the kids play while it is a bit cooler outside and get some MORE weeding done (there is always more weeding to do).

Carrots

Lettuce

Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers

Cherry Tomatoes

Potatoes

Noah's Roses

Strawberries

Peas

Shuswap

2010-06-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Just got back last night from our first trip up to Shuswap Lake this summer. The weather was great... it only rainned a short time the first afternoon. The kids had fun as you can see from the pictures. The first time David decided to go for a swim in the lake he just took off all his clothes and ran right in. He has no time for bathing suits... got some cute pictures of it but I didn't think they were really postable. Angeline's two piece is so cute. The bottoms are a bit big so when they get wet you can see her little bum. Even though we had fun it is always good to be back. We have another busy week and more company for the weekend. Looking forward to it!

David's 4th Birthday

2010-06-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

David turns 4 at the end of this month. In some ways it is hard to believe but he has grown up so much in the past few months that I already think he is 4. Right now he is really into Toy Story and Cowboys. He watches the preview for Toy Story 3 and asks to watch it so that will probably end up being the first movie he see's in Theater. While we were on the Island Nana got him a cowboy hat and took him on a real train ride that got robbed by cowboys on horses so he loved that. He has now officially started to collect "real" Lego. We got him a lego table for his birthday (shhhh... it's a suprise) and Jonathan is also planning to set up his fish tank.

David likes to be funny. He is often doing things to make us laugh and he laughs to himself and says "David's funny." He says the cutest things all the time. When my sister gave him a foam sword I asked him if he was a pirate or a musketeer and he got quite upset and said "NO! David is a BOY!."

We had a birthday party for David yesterday and we did a bit of a Toy Story/Cowboy theme. David wanted a "Woody" cake so we compromised and I made Woody's boot. It turned out well and it was chocolate so he was happy.

Love you David!

David and the Zip Line

2010-06-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Visited some friends on the Island yesterday. David had the opportunity to ride their zip line and he loved it (despite the screaming). He saw one of the bigger kids do it and then he ran up the hill saying "David's turn... David's turn"... he waited in line and I thought he might chicken out but he did it. I think he went about six times. Angeline was a bit too young for the zip line but she enjoyed being carried around by Sam, being outside and just playing with the toys. Thanks for the visit!

Sugar Plum, Love at first sight

2010-06-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first ultrasound. It was so nice to see our little Sugar Plum moving around. I can't feel her yet but she is definitely very active. We got a picture too which we are very excited about even if its not the best ultrasound picture ever. Still nice to have our first picture! We also got the news we were hoping for from our ultrasound. Sugar Plum's nucleo translucency fluid is measuring in the normal range. This doesn't mean that she doesn't have Trisomy 13 but it is a really good sign. We did some blood work today and will have some more blood work done in another 3 weeks and all of the results put together give us a good indication of Sugar Plum's health.

We have also managed to finally name baby as you may have noticed from the title and the above paragraph. We really wanted to chose something festive for the Christmas Season and we finally found something that we both liked. Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions. So when you hear mention of Sugar Plum you now know we are talking about baby number four.

Baby #4

2010-06-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

We are nearing our 11th week of pregnancy so we are more then 1/4 done. Not sure if that is really encouraging to me yet but I am finding that this pregnancy is going by fast.

We had a doctors appointment yesterday and got to hear baby's heart beating for the first time so that was really exciting. My uterus is the average size for what it should be at this stage so it seems that there is only 1 baby in there.

Went over my blood test results and discovered that there is actually a reason I am more tired this pregnancy so it is not just my imagination. I will have some more blood work done on the 9th when I have my ultrasound so we will see if things improve. Otherwise I may have to take some medication but it is nothing to worry about.

Looking forward to our ultrasound 1 week from tomorrow. Will be nice to see baby and hopefully get a picture. We are hoping to hear good news that baby is healthy but it may take a few weeks for results. With Angeline they told us the same day that everything was looking good but I guess it just depends if there is someone working who can determine that.

Still no nick-name for baby. I have one I like but not on the same page with Jonathan. Might just have to call this one "baby" until he or she arrives. Thankfully we have had no trouble picking actual names, just not sure what to call her at the moment. We are not planning to find out baby's gender this pregnancy.

Happy Mothers Day x4

2010-05-09T05:49:00.000-07:00

This year it is happy mothers day x4 for me. We thought Mothers Day would be a great opportunity to announce our newest family member... due to arrive December 23, 2010. To some of you this is not a surprise... it is difficult keeping the 4th a surprise... especially when the 1st (David) announced to his Sunday school class last week that he was going to have another baby (cute)! I really can't keep it a secret either so I guess he gets that from me... we really are excited about this one. I actually felt twice as excited when I found out and I am hoping that means that we are having twins but that is a long shot.

Our first Ultrasound is scheduled for June 9th when we will be 12 weeks pregnant... another 4 and a bit weeks to go. We will know about baby's heath after that and will hopefully have some cute pictures to post too. My nausea has picked up quite a bit this last week... hopefully I won't have to suffer through my 16th week like I did with Angeline. But I keep reminding myself that is just part of being pregnant.

We are still working on a name to give baby #4 for the duration of this pregnancy... you may remember we called Angeline "Sweet Pea"... and still do occasionally. I would like to have a Christmas name of some type considering baby's due date... if you have any suggestions... Christmas or not please let us know.

We are not currently planning to find out baby's gender but we will see how we are feeling closer to our 20 week ultrasound.

New Camera

2010-04-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

We got a new camera yesterday. The Canon Rebel Xsi. It's a camera we concidered a few years ago and even with some of the newer ones that have come out since I think it still meets our needs the best. We have been playing with it this morning. It is my fist time using a digital SLR... actually it is my first time using an SLR period. I had a lot of fun as you can see from my pictures.

Sunday Best

2010-04-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Sand Castles & Visits

2010-04-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grammy!

2010-04-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

13 Months!

2010-04-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures of our "big" girl. Loving her to bits! Can't believe she is 13 months old.

Angeline is walking...

2010-04-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the kids this morning and a video of Angeline walking this morning. She took her first steps on March 20th but has been crawling for the most part since. This last week she has gotten braver and braver and today she has only crawled maybe 5%. This will make it much easier for her to wear dresses and also to play outside.

We actually spent about 4 hours in the backyard yesterday. It was a hot day! I had hats on the kids and I was in a tank top... I could not believe it. I was hoping we would have a repeat today but it is raining! Too bad because Jonathan is home today.

2010-04-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT allergy information RE: DAVID

2010-04-08T17:47:00.001-07:00

When David was 16 months old he had an allergic reaction when eating a very trace amount of peanut butter. We were recommended to keep him away from all nuts until a later time. Last month (March 12th) we had the opportunity to do some allergy testing at Children's hospital. He had a strong reaction to the arm pricks they did and so we did a blood test to confirm the suspected allergies. I just got the results back today and David is severely allergic to the following:

peanuts
sesame seeds
macadamia nut
pistachio
cashew
pecan
walnut
hazel nut

We have been prescribed a Jr. Epipen which we will be getting tomorrow and we are going to have to teach everyone how and when to use it in case of an emergency. The allergist will check David in another 4 years but it is unlikely that he will ever be able to tolerate these nuts. So if you are giving David chocolate please look for the "peanut free" sign and make sure it doesn't contain the other nuts listed as well. He can not have Chinese food either... and it looks like I am going to be making a lot more things from scratch. For now we must keep away from Dairy Queen, Marble slab and other treats that are "processed in a facility with nuts."

Angeline must also be kept away from these nuts as she has had a reaction to peanut butter as well.

Happy Easter (Belated)

2010-04-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

It's a GIRL Thing! (You're Invited!)

2010-04-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

What have I been up to lately?

Well, lots actually. I've recently become a Stampin Up demonstrator and if I wasn't busy enough before I certainly am now. I am really looking forward to actually getting started... so far I have just been working on getting the word out and inviting people to my Stampin Up Club. Here are the details if you are interested or know someone who might be interested (in case I haven't e-mailed you, handed you an invitation in person or facebooked you yet). Some of you are hearing this again for the 4th time, sorry!

I have a post on my NEW BLOG (www.getcreative-itsagirlthing.blogspot.com) with a detailed invitation if you would like to know more... so here is a brief description....

It's a girls night at my house the 3rd Saturday of every month for 7 months, beginning in just over 2 weeks (April 17th). It starts at 7:30PM and I will prepare projects for us to make using stampin up products. There is a limited space... only 4 spots left. Each person who joins commits to spend 30$/month on stampin up products (not hard to do!) and each person receives hostess benefits for one of the months (this is why it goes for 7 months and there are 7 people, the reason you commit to spend 30$ is so that each month the hostess qualifies for the free stamp set and 20$ free product of her choice). If you sign up and convince a friend to sign up too you get 20% off your order during the month of your choice. If you have always wanted to get into making hand made cards but haven't found the time or don't feel creative enough this is perfect for you. If you have already started your stampin up collection but have trouble making time or getting idea's this is perfect for you too. If you are just board and or need a girls night out this is perfect for YOU.

Please visit my new blog and if you have any questions just call me. Can't wait to see you there!

Have you seen us lately?

2010-03-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

David Making Cookies

2010-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Angeline is 1 year old! - March 14th

2010-03-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

On March 14th we celebrated Angeline's 1st Birthday. We were on the Island for her birthday so that is why I am a bit delayed in blogging it. I also wanted to wait until I had a bit more of an update as she had her 1 year check up and shots yesterday.

At 1 year old she still hasn't quite reached 17 lbs! She has dropped a bit in her percentile but that is common at this age because they are so mobile. She is very busy... but not walking independently yet.

We have managed to achieve another special milestone however, one I have been waiting for since she was born... First Pony-tail! Angeline isn't so excited about this but mommy is and you will likely see her sporting this new hair style very soon. Next we are waiting for the day we can achieve pig-tails. I keep telling her "pain is beauty!"

Here are some pictures of the birthday girl on the Island as well as myself who turned 27 this month, my dad who will be 50 and my grandma who is turning "68"... lots of March babies!

1st Picnic of 2010

2010-03-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went for our first picnic of the year. It's been nice to be able to get out in the sun even if it is still cold outside. It warmed up later Saturday to the point that we could even take out jackets off but definitely still needed sweaters. The video of Angeline was take a different day at a different park but I still thought it would fit well with this post. There are signs of Spring everywhere in our yard... Jonathan even cut the grass for the first time and I hung the diapers on the line. We are really looking forward to the warmer temperatures that should be on their way.

Noah's House

2010-03-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

Usually anniversaries are a positive thing. Today on the second anniversary of Noah's death I want to tell you about something positive my mom and Jonathan's dad are doing in Noah's honour. On September 11th, 2010 they will be racing 6 km by kayak... 32km by bike and a 10 km run... all part of the Adventure Challenge to raise money for Canuck Place.

Canuck Place has been a very special place for our family since Noah was diagnosed in November 2007. They were the only organization offering us support in the decisions we would have to face when Noah was born and through out his life. In the end Noah breathed his last at Canuck Place... a nightmare most of you can only imagine but Canuck Place took care of everything for us, made sure Noah and we were as comfortable as could be and then provided us with some memories to cherish as we began our journey of grief.

6 months after Noah died we attended a grief support group at Canuck Place, every second Tuesday for 1 year. That support group helped us be able to live again after Noah's death. David attended play therapy while we went to our meetings with other parents who had lost a child. David loved going to Canuck Place and always had hugs for the women who would watch him. On the day of our last meeting (a happy day because we were moving on, a sad day because we would miss our friends and the special time set aside to talk of Noah) I asked David as we were walking towards the gate to go in. "Do you know where we are?" I thought he would say "Canuck Place" but what he said was "Noah's House."

I am high-lighting this event as a way of sharing on the anniversary of my son's death that his life goes on. It goes on in my heart and in the hearts of many. His life goes on in the memories that many of us share. So if you would check out the Adventure Challenge sight and consider sponsoring dad (Rob Neufeld) or mom (Carol Hanson) you would be putting your money towards a very worthy cause, towards Canuck Place.... or as we like to call it "Noah's House."

to make a donation to Canuck Place by sponsoring Dad or Mom just go to the Adventure Challenge Website. There is a link on my blog under "sites to check out" or you can click on the link below...

Adventure Challenge

It's My Party...

2010-03-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

Angeline & Alexandra

Joel & Natalie

Angeline, Jasmine & Alexandra

We had a small get together today to celebrate Angeline's 1st Birthday. She did very well especially concidering she missed her nap. After her friends left she slept for 30 minutes and that was it! So she went to bed at 6:45 and hopefully she sleeps through the night. Still another week until she actually turns 1.

Olympics

2010-02-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

February has been a busy month and we missed going into Vancouver while the weather was nice but my mom came for the weekend and the two of us went down town on Saturday for some quality time together and just to take it all in.

We took the sky train and as most trips where myself, my mom or worse both of us together are in charge of navigating we started off lost but that didn't dampen our spirits any. We walked a lot... took in the sights and the atmosphere and almost did the zip line. No, we didn't chicken out. We had about 3 1/2 hours until we planned to head back and pick up the kids at mom and dad's. We were told the line up for the zip was 3 1/2 - 3 hours long at that time. We got in line and waited for about 30 minutes at which point we reached a marker that said it was a 4 hour wait from that point... so we decided to go watch the mascots on ice instead... which was very cute.

I didn't take a ton of pictures and we forgot to check out the cauldron but we had a good time. Oh, we also got to see the Women's curling team with their silver medals and mom got some pictures of that.