Snow, Snow and More Snow!

When we woke up Sunday morning everything was covered in a white blanket of snow and I quickly ran outside with my camera to capture this little gardener on the deck! You never know how long the snow is going to stay around here and he looked so cute with his snow hat and blanket! But I had no idea this was only the beginning.....


It snowed, and it snowed, and it snowed!!! By Sunday evening he was covered in snow(according to the weather report we received 53 cm or 21 inches of snow!) Yup, that is a lot of snow...and it didn't quit yet. It was so bad that Jamie and Megan couldn't get up our street so they had to stay overnight....but first, they needed to go buy diapers(can't do without those)! Here they are all set to take off on their winter adventure.....walking past the elementary school to the local corner store(this stretch had lots of memories for Jamie).


By Monday morning the snow had stopped for a while anyway(we got another 6 inches last night) and Dave was back outside shovelling the snow on the driveway. You can tell by the piles of snow how much we had!

Unfortunately I had to fly out of town on Monday morning for a speaking engagement and my flight was cancelled! Yikes! But after at least half an hour on the phone they were able to rebook me later in the day and a kind friend picked me up in their SUV for the drive to the airport! It was the beginning of an adventure to be sure!

My connecting flight was cancelled so I never did make it to speak on Monday evening! I had lots of opportunities to practise what I preach when I talk about choosing joy and it being a choice! Fortunately a friend stepped in and took my place that evening, and I arrived after the fact but in time to speak on Tuesday. On the way home yesterday my connecting flight was again cancelled....another long delay and time to practise choosing joy! I guess that is why my nic is Joyful.....It never felt sooooo good to be home again!

November Snow!

Yup, I just took this picture in the dark(hence the eerie lighting) because it is so beautiful. It started snowing late this afternoon and we have several inches already and it supposed to snow all night long! There is no wind so it was just sitting on the branches of our Japanese Maple tree outside our bedroom window so I just had to try my hand at some night pictures. Funny thing is we had a similar snowstorm the last week of November last year too. I wonder if this is becoming a tradition! Sure does help you feel like Christmas truly is only a month away! Did I just say that? Eeeks!

 

A Face Full of Joy!

I just couldn't help myself! I had to steal this picture off of Megan's blog because it was just too cute not to share with all of you that may not have seen it! Isn't he just the cutest? Aidan is quick to smile and has learned how to laugh. Nothing brings joy to his parents and grandparents quicker than his smile when we talk to him. He can't quite sit by himself so a little help is needed(which is why the hands are behind him to catch if needed!) It is hard to believe that he is only three months old! It seems hard to remember what life was like without him. 

Extreme Home Makeover

In case you were all wondering what I did in my spare time besides grandparenting this collage gives you a tiny glimpse of one Extreme Home Makeover. Last Saturday Heather and Matt moved into their very own home....but before that could happen, Heather decreed that every surface in the house(except for the garage) needed a new coat of paint!(she was right of course!) Flourescent Orange be gone....Although Heather and I did the lion's share of the painting, we did have some willing helpers(and yes, that is indeed Dave in the closet with a Paint Roller! He was a real trooper and stepped up to the plate when our other helpers couldn't make it and we had too many walls to paint and not enough hours in the day! ) Matt bought himself a 'How To' book and helped by patching drywall, putting in new light switches and outlets, and hanging all the cupboard doors with brand new hardware! Very impressive!!

On Friday we finished the last of the trim and boy are we glad! It was a gargantuan task but well worth it when we surveyed the finished product! A cute little house with Heather's very own touch of class everywhere! We really do enjoy painting together and I am already planning our next project...but first we need to take a month or two without a paintbrush in our hands! :-)

Enjoying Aidan!

Probably one of the questions I get asked most these days is, "So how are you enjoying your grandson?" There is only one answer......immensely!! Gone are our quiet(well sort of quiet) family dinners, and uninterrupted Sunday afternoon games(we still play them but now usually one of us is holding a baby), but we wouldn't trade them for anything! In their place there is this little man that has won his way into all of our hearts...

Just before the monsoon season started(November has that nickname around our house since it is the month of rain, rain, and rain....sometimes not just outside but also inside our house) I got to babysit and Aidan came on his first walk with Grandma. It was a cold morning so he was bundled up against the wind. My friend and I marvelled as we thought about how we first started walking together when our youngest children started kindergarten....and now here we were, still walking but occassionally having a grandchild in a stroller in front of us! Who would have thought that we would still be walking together regularly once we were grandmothers!(they were supposed to be old....so what happened?)

Dave's Mom also fell in love with her great-grandson! How fun it was to watch her enjoy Aidan, and what a blessing this little guy has to have four grandparents and 4 great-grandparents still alive too! What a legacy!

As you can see, he is quite the handful! And not even 3 months old yet!

Of course Grandpa Dave enjoys this little guy too! They have started having man-to-man talks! Dave insists that he wants to stand already so they practise when he has him!

A Tiny Tigger!

Heather gave Aidan this cute outfit soon after he was born...in a 6 month size which should have been way to big for him yesterday on Halloween! However, guess what? Our growing grandson who is only 2 months old but over 14 pounds already fit into it...well sort of anyway! And he was definitely too cute for words...so here is the picture Heather, just like I promised!

Great Grandma, Dave's Mom arrived from Minnesota yesterday so we had a family dinner so she could meet her great-grandson, so Megan decided to dress him up for the occassion! So much fun!