Day 39: New Home, Part 1 of...Several

So on Monday, the move finally went ahead. My Mom and Dad arrived with their truck and we started to put the boxes that we had stuffed our lives into on their truck. We left our 2 bedroom apartment behind forever and made our way to our three bedroom, two bathroom house.

My new house!!!!

So far we love everything about this house. The trees in the front yard are just like the ones I had in my yard when I was a little girl. I plan to plant pansies in the "wishing well" in the front yard in the spring. I have two rhubarb patches and two plum trees in the backyard.

What do the boys like best? Well, they love the playroom and their new bedroom but I think that perhaps their favorite part is...

Silly Hayden

...being able to look out the window! Since our old apartment was a downstairs one, all the windows were too high for the kids to be able to look out of without help. Now they can stand in the living room and see everything that goes on outside. Watching the mail be delivered is a particular fascination to them.

I don't have pictures of everything yet because I haven't really had a chance with all the unpacking, but here are a few since I know some of you are curious.

Silas, James and Hayden watching television in the new living room

Can't see much of the living room in this picture but you can see that it has hardwood floors, the walls are a gold color except the one directly behind the sofa, which is an off-white.

The Mom is unimpressed

This is the armchair and bamboo divider between my living room and dining room. Mom is not greatly excited about having her picture taken and I don't blame her. We'd been waiting for Dad and Johnny to return from the apartment for ages and were starving.

Ignore the mess...

This is my dining room. What you can't see in this picture are the glass cupboards on the wall to the right. They house my Willow Tree Angels, my Cherished Teddies and my pretty teacups.

Some things never change.

Despite having a new bedroom with a new layout...Silas still manages to somehow get out of bed and end up in the strangest places.

Breakfast at the new place.

This is me, early in the morning the day after our move. Showing my face was not an option.

Just like last year...Silas has eyes only for the cake.

This was my first big dinner in the new place. My mom's birthday was Wednesday and since she couldn't be in town that day, I did her birthday dinner a day late. It was a fantastic dinner if I do say so myself. We had baked pork chops, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts and peas...and of course birthday cake for dessert!

More pictures coming in the next couple days. Keep your eyes peeled and the comments coming. Please don't make me beg.

Day 30 - Meet the Family...We're not the Fockers, We're COOLER

I haven't blogged much about my extended family, so I guess it's time to fill you in on some of the other people you will "meet" as you read my blog.

I have the most fantastical, absolutely amazing parents in the history of the universe. If you think yours are better, it's just because you didn't have mine! *winks* My mother, Joan, is a domestic goddess who was the absolute best stay at home mom that any child could ever ask for. She is my role model, my idol, the person I strive to be like. She is beautiful and has aged more gracefully than anyone I know. I hope at her age to look like her.

My beautiful, beautiful Mommy. *muah*

She devoted her life to God, her husband and her children, in that order. One of my most prominent memories of life with my mother is coming home from school, opening the door (we never had to use a key to get in) and calling "Mom?!" from the doorway. Door still open. Only one foot inside the back porch. 99% of the time Mom's sweet voice would call back, "Yes Joanie?" and I would come inside. On that odd 1% of the time that she had gone to a neighbour's house or was working in our vegetable patch and lost track of time, I would dump my backpack next to the door and go right back outside to search for her. It wasn't worth being inside without my mom. My mom was my friend as I grew up, but there was a balance there. She was able to still be my friend without letting her role as authority and disciplinarian slip. I hope to achieve that balance with my boys.

Then there's my Daddy, James. I have always been Daddy's girl. He was definitely not the disciplinarian in our family. A common phrase among my siblings and I was "If Mom says no, it means no. If Dad says no, it means maybe." He's a barrel of fun and laughs and still has the best cuddling lap in the world, even if I am 29 years old now. I will forever be Daddy's Angel.

My Daddy with my baby.

All I can say is "best parents ever" and I hope that Johnny and I can raise our children even half as well as they did.

I am the youngest of four children, and I'm the youngest by a lot. There's a 13 year gap between myself and my youngest sister. The oldest is Carolyn.

Carolyn and Silas WAYYYY back.

Carolyn is mom to Russell (almost 23), Tiffany (21) and Melissa (almost 20), and is about to be grandma for the first time to a little boy that we think is going to be named Wyatt. We'll find out tomorrow when he's born!

Second is my brother Jimmy, who I don't have a picture of. Jimmy left home when I was about 4 years old and I've only seen him twice since. He has a son named Kyle, who I also don't have a picture of. Kyle is 17...I think.

My youngest sibling is my sister, Linda. We've been very close for my whole life and are even able to read each other's minds on occasion. She's mom to Adam (21) and Beckie (almost 19).

Linda with Silas in 2007.

So now that you know the cast of characters, the story will make more sense. You'll be hearing a lot more about these folks in the coming weeks, starting tomorrow with the birth of Melissa's baby boy!