A miracle on my doorstep...

So this last week was very eventful. Our furnace went out on the coldest night we've had so far, I crashed our van 50 feet from our house, and then when we took our van in to get fixed Taylor forgot to give me back our keys so I was locked out of the house with my kids. I eventually got desperate and broke in our back window. I can't say that I didn't have any stress from it all, but a lot of good came from it. I was able to be reminded of how great and understanding my husband is. He came home from school early and took care of all the insurance stuff the day of the accident. He helped me to realize that it was just a piece of metal and we would get through this. The day I was locked out of my house I had the opportunity to get to know my sweet neighbor. We had such a great visit as she told me of some of her experiences in life and about her family. She even got down on the floor with Brody and played blocks with him. I really appreciated that especially since it wasn't an easy task to get up and down for her. Today I expressed to my Father in Heaven how grateful I was for these experiences, for the lessons I learned and the blessing that came from these trials. Now this brings me to our miracle on the doorstep. Tonight I got a call and I was told that it was an unanimous call and to check outside for something on my doorstep. I asked who it was, but she said that she just wanted to make sure I got it. Well, it was an envelope with $500 in it which is the exact amount of our deductible for the van. I have no idea who it was, but I am overwhelmed with gratitude and love for that person. How Christlike was that act; I will forever remember this miracle!!!

Don't get me wrong, I love our American people here, but look at the influence they are having on our Canadian children. But you have to admit, It sure is cute!!

Happy Halloween!!

The kids had a great Halloween, although they didn't end up with as much of candy as last year. So now the parents feel guilty if we snitch any. I guess its for the best. This year we went with the King family; the kids had a lot of fun with their cousins.

New calling...

So I got a new calling in my church, I'm an assistant Webelos leader. For all my fellow Canadian readers, a Webelo is the older kid cub scouts. I have to admit that I was a little intimidated in accepting this call, as I grew up with 5 younger sisters and am overall pretty girly. I know girls!!!! (even though I do have 3 young boys myself). But with each week, I love the challenge and getting to know those young boys. I love their energy and they make me laugh. Tonight I was reading the scriptures and read Doctrine and Covenant 64:33. It says: "Wherefore, be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great". It really made me reflect on the the supposedly "lesser" roles in life. For example, parenthood, a role that is often undermined. Yet we are laying a foundation for our kids to accomplish all that they desire and experience a life full of happiness. What a great work! I'm so grateful to be involved in that work and for all the people; family(grandparents, uncles and aunts), primary teachers, school teachers, great neighbors and friends who help along the way. Often I feel that it is those things we do that aren't publicly noticed and seem so simple, that make the greatest difference in lives of others. "Out of small things proceedeth that which is great."

Happy Birthday Brody!!!

So one of my favorite shows is cake challenge on food network, they make the most beautiful cakes. I know I'm not even close to cake challenge level, but I thought a football cake would be easy enough to pull together. Well after hours spent and my kitchen completely destroyed, I came up with this cake. The problem was that the cake I made was light and fluffy and so when I cut out the football shape, it was really crumbly and the icing wouldn't stick to the sides. Good thing over the years of not being a perfect homemaker, I have learned to fix and cover up mistakes. Anyways, he's 3 and loved it and that's all that matters!!!

3 Months already!!!

I can't believe Brock is 3 months already. He is such a good baby, so content and happy. The kids are really starting to enjoy him more now that he is smiling and more interactive. It's crazy how fast they change, he is looking a lot more like Ashton did when he was a baby. Well, really, all my boys look like Taylor!

Back to School

The kids are back at it. Hallie is in 3rd grade and Ashton is now in Kindergarten. They are both are doing great so far. We live really close to the school, so the kids get to walk together to school along with the neighborhood kids. I love our neighborhood, a lot of families and really good people. On Hallie's first day of school I watched her in her classroom for a few minutes and they were singing the American national anthem, poor girl looked so lost. We do really like it here, but we sure miss our Canada! It's a little weird that our kids will be learning American history. We will just have to teach them on the side their Canadian heritage.