FINALLY!

Okay.. wow. Since we've been married, over 11 years now.. I have longed for a Kitchenaid stand mixer. Every birthday, mother's day, Christmas.. I would ask for one, knowing that it was a tad expensive, but worth a shot.. lol. I was supposed to get my grandmother's, but long story... it got sold at a garage sale.
Annyyyywwwaaaayyyyss..... today, the boys and I went up to the airport to pick Eric up from work. He said he needed to go to Canadian Tire to pick up a few things. While making a small return at the Customer Service desk, he asked me, "What colour do you like?" Not knowing what he was referring to, I said "Bluish-Green".
Fast forward a few minutes and we're walking down the isle and he pushes the cart up beside a display of Kitchenaid mixers! He had been waiting for a decent price on the 475 watt professional series with the bowl-lift.. and needless to say, I am now the proud owner of this!!!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!? LOL.. I think I'm in loooovvve *swwooon* Christmas baking is going to be SO much better this year!!!
Anyways, I had to share.. off to play now :)

FANTASTIC NEWS!

The title of this blog.. "This Year I Will Live With FAITH" has certainly been hard to do. In light of some of this year's difficult events, I have worked hard to maintain faith that things will be okay. In April, only a year after Gran's passing, Grandpa went to join her in heaven. In the same time frame, we found out that Dad's cancer had relapsed, and initially, it didn't look like the doctors could help anymore. Upon prodding, the doctor realized that it wasn't a relapse, but rather a new primary tumour site in his bowel with spots in his liver. They removed the tumor in the bowel and eventually, resumed his chemotherapy. Well, yesterday he received his recent CT results, the results that would tell him whether all the difficult chemotherapy treatments had made any effect, and whether it would be worth continuing. I have been praying a lot... a LOT. In fact, yesteray morning, the boys and I said another prayer for Poppy before breakfast, and not 5 minutes later, Dad called (they are 4.5 hours ahead of us) with the best news! The spots in his liver have either completely disappeared or shrunken dramatically!!!!! A true miracle!
The boys were so elated that their prayers had worked :) He starts chemo again today, so our prayers continue that he will be healed completely!

Anyways, that's been the big news around here. The boys enjoyed Hallowe'en, and filled their bags almost completely just in our small subdivision! Surprisingly, they haven't been begging to gorge themselves, and they know they must ask first for candy. Just prior to Hallowe'en, we headed out to Keremeos to the Big Bear Market to pick out pumpkins. While we were there, we picked up a flat of pears and a flat of apples. I canned the pears right away (which, I might add, are delish!) and we're enjoying the Gala apples still.
Other than that, we have ben preparing for winter... we built Mom's shed last Saturday, and only have a few last minute things to do to complete it 100%. It's a 10x14 metal shed.. so it will be a lot of room for her. Then, on Sunday, Mom and I headed to Omak for some cross-border grocery shopping. Good deals, but now that our dollar isn't as high comparatively, it's not quite as good as it used to be.
Yesterday we had the boys' parent-teacher interviews, and I am happy to say that they are both doing well. Cole is a "delight" and "has incredible perserverance and work ethic". Blake is in the highest literacy group in his grade and is really coming around to getting his work done. He is "creative, imaginative and ahead in many areas". ****insert proud mommy moment here!****

Anyways, I was going to link in a bunch of photos, but I cannot find my card-reader for my camera in this mess of an office (I am painting it and making it ***mine***!!)
I will definitely put up pics next time!

Wow... change is exhausting! :)

Well... it has been a HECTIC few months, hence my neglect of this blog :) The kids are back to school, we bought a new house (!) and moved in, and enjoyed an amazing visit with Dad! I will elaborate more later in this post, but business first!

Digital Scrapbooking Day is coming fast (November 1st), and many sales are happening in the digi world. At ScrapbookBytes.com, we have put together a super fun collaboration kit called Modern Boy... that will be FREE with any $10 purchase from the participating designers from Oct 30 to Nov 3! I will show you the previews so you can get your creative juices flowing. I have already scrapped a couple of pages with this kit, and might I just say, this kit is super fun and super easy to work with, whether you have boys or not!
Here is the main kit preview:



The papers (which are gorgeous!)



The elements (super fun!)



And the add-ons, which make for super easy scrapping :)



I will have a new fun kit out very soon, also... for next week's sale... so be on the lookout!

So, back to our busy-ness around here! First of all, here is the new house!

It is in a quiet small subdivision called ValleyView Estates... because, really, we do have a gorgeous valley-view.... the people just up the hill from us have a beautiful view of the farmland in the valley-bottom, along with the gorgeous mountains.. and we have a view of the vineyards and beautiful Peach Cliff...

The picture doesn't really do it justice... but it's BEAUTIFUL up here! We have an entire 1/2 acre that has yet to be landscaped, but we got such a screaming deal on this place, we could easily overlook that! We have 4 bedrooms
, 3 baths, slate gas fireplace, dining nook, dining room, living room, family room, Eric finally has a man-cave, also! The appliances are beautiful, stainless steel everything (which is annoying for fingerprints! lol).. and my Electrolux Pro Series Oven/Range is phenomenal. Oh, and we have central air, finally! That is a very very big necessity here in the Okanagan when it reaches over 40 degrees celsius! The house is only 2 years old, and the previous owners (house has been empty for 10 months) took immaculate care of it!

Anyways, Dad was able to take a break from chemo and come out for a 3 week visit... he was here when we put the offer in on the house, signed everything and moved in! It was SO nice to have him here, to visit and just spend time together. The boys are already asking when he can come back, or when they can go back to Newfoundland to visit! He even gained 16 pounds while he was out here (which is good, because he needed to!)... partly in thanks to a newly-acquired addiction to Tickleberry's Kettle Corn! :)

Anyways, the boys are doing really really well in school... Blake has adjusted and is really beginning to show major gains in all areas. Cole is apparently "a joy to have in the classroom and a sweet, sweet boy". I'm one proud mama! We're waiting to hear about some tests for Cole... an echocardiogram and ekg, as well as an MRI to rule out a Tethered Spinal Cord. Yikes... I thought I had dodged the "bullet" with the boys! So, if ya'll could spare a prayer for him and for Dad, I would very much appreciate it!

So, I should sign off for now, I have to 'puter-vultures hanging over my shoulder biting at the bit to browse Bionicles on eBay! lol... take care, and I will be back soon!