Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

It has been a while since I last posted. It seems like time is just flying by. I was able to lead our Stake Choir again this Christmas for our annual Christmas Concert with the neighboring Catholic Church. It fell on the same weekend as the nativity and finally motivated me to get some Christmas spirit. Shortly after that I started shopping and decorating. I am not sure if Abby was too excited about decorating the tree but she helped us anyway.Poor Abby it really seemed to take me a long time this year. Prior to the weather turning ultra cold we did have a few great snow days and built some snowmen together.

We spent Christmas here in Winnipeg as I had to work Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It was really hard not to be with Abby and Ryan however we did open everything but Santa gifts the day before so I didn't really miss all that much. Ryan spoiled me and got me a nativity set which I have been wanting since we got married. So sweet. I love it.

We spent most of the holiday time with Ryan's family and on New Year's will hit my sisters place for some fun. It has been a wonderful holiday season and a great time to spend time with our family and friends.
Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful season and time to celebrate from our family to yours.
Our exciting news for the new year is we are bringing number two into the family which will be lot's of fun. Here's hoping to no more morning sickness or nausea!!!!!!

Reflection

Well time sure flies when you are having fun! The last week at the Barfuss house has been pretty amazing. I have pretty awesome family here. I do have to say I figured out the dog walking business. I got a sled for Abby and then I never let go of the leash so instead of a running walk we just go for a walk. It is so much more fun for everyone involved.
I am pretty exhausted overall with sleeping in a different bed, Abby waking up because she is not sleeping in her regular bed, and a dog waking me up at night. Can we all say I am not getting a dog anytime soon after this experience. I was kind of feeling overwhelmed the other day since I just wasn't keeping up with all the craziness of teenage business, entertaining a toddler, and trying to keep a house clean. It made me realize how grateful I am for the concept of precept upon precept and although being a parent to four kids this week has been slightly overwhelming I only have one right now and I will only get one at a time so it won't be so totally overwhelming hopefully.
Now I have to brag about how great my neices and nephew have been. Ben is so willing to help out and play with Abby so I can try to catch up and take a short nap. So totally appreciated. Joelle and I got to have a girls night and eat sushi and watch a chick flick. So awesome and so sad that she is leaving me next year but so excited for her to start a new life. Nicole was so awesome yesterday I was feeling like such a bad surrogate Mom because the house was a disaster and she totally started cleaning up and helping out. They are all amazing kids and I am so glad for this experience and that we have built some fun memories. I am also glad for my sister and brother in law. They are pretty amazing and do so much for everyone around them. When she called this morning it sounds like they have had an amazing relaxing trip and I am so glad that they were able to go.
All in all I have a lot of things to be grateful and and I am so glad that I am able to have these learning experiences and hopefully learn from them so that someday I will be that better person I am striving to be.
The other perk about this week is I have become a pro at the Wii bowling and I am slightly addicted. It is so much fun. Ryan is so excited that I of all people am into video games. HE HE!!

Skiddles Dilemma

Well Abby loves the Barfuss's dog skiddles but taking them both outside is such a chore . Who knew? I need some sort of winter travel arrangement for Abby. Right now our walks consist of Skiddles running away. Abby screaming when I have to put her down to run after Skiddles and one very frustrated Mom. It would be okay if this dog didn't have to run full tilt constantly but trying to fun full tilt while carrying my 20lb child is a little much in my winter boots. Help anyone? Looking for a free dog walker!! Oh yeah there are three that live here but they are all so busy. Not looking forward to the accidents that will most likely follow today since after our 40 minute adventure to the park Skiddles still didn't go to the bathroom. Oh boy!!! How many more days??? JK!!!
Have a great Monday everyone!!

Barfuss Mania

Ryan, Abby, and I have entered a new adventure for the next week and a half. We are taking care of the Barfuss clan so their parents can enjoy a much needed vacation. It should be lot's of fun times and a little peek at what life is like living with three teenagers. My most exciting moment will be the sushi dates with Joelle since my husband still hasn't converted to liking sushi!!
Abby is already in love with Ben and Skiddles (the dog) I think this will be great fun.

Barfuss Mania

Well Ryan, Abby, and I have moved over to the Barfuss's for a week and a half so Vicki and Darren can go on their cruise. It should bring lot's of sushi dates for me YEAH!!!!! Already Abby is in love with Ben and Ryan is now only a ten minute bike ride to work so he is pretty excited. We'll have to keep you updated on our sanity!!!

Growing Up

It seems like time just rushes by here at the Smith house. This week was pretty big. Abby is now 18 months old. She went to her first birthday party and trick or treating. Crazy!!!
My cousin did this on her blog and I thought it was so cute. Here are some things about Abby at eighteen months old:
1. She loves being outside. Makes me kind of nervous for the winter weather. I just have to find a really warm snowsuit.
2. Loves animals but mostly dogs. We submitted this week and got a few fish. A far cry from a dog but she loves feeding it every morning with Mom.
3. Loves books. Since she was a week old I have been reading to her all the time and now I love it when I tell her to go get something to play with she runs and gets a book!!
4. Has turned into a fearless toddler on the playground. Slightly scary for Mom but so glad she is independent and wanting to explore.
5. Is content with a tupperware container full of whatever so she can dump them out and put them back in. Who needs Fisher Price?
6. Is attached to "Puffy". We have Aunt Beth to thank for this but lately she has taken to carrying her little stuffed penguin everywhere. So cute.
7. She is still pretty quiet. Not saying too many words yet but we all know what she wants when she wants it. Her favorite word to say is Grandpa I wonder if he has been coaching her??
8. Has the best healthy appetite. She loves her fruit and vegetables. I hope this doesn't change. She is happy if I give her an apple to munch on. It's awesome.
9. She is so easy going and goes to nursery at church each Sunday with no problem. Slightly hard on Mom where is my little girl? So independent.
10. She is totally spoiled by her Grandma and Grandpa here in Winnipeg and she totally loves them and going over to their house. It is awesome that we have such great family so close.
Just a sneak peek at my adorable girl. I think she is pretty awesome.
For Halloween we dressed her up as Little Red Riding Hood. We went to three whole houses. I know hold me back. We hit Aunt Vicki's, Grandma's, and our neighbor. It was fun. Honestly she had way more fun after watching all the kids come to the door. Good for everyone since we didn't obtain too much candy and Abby didn't even know what she was missing.
On Tuesday she went to her first birthday party. It was her friends second birthday. It was so weird to drop her off and pick her up three hours later. She is growing up way too fast. Time needs to slow down. Oh and for the record I gave up and just bought a new planner!!!

Planner Drama

Well I have realized that I am lost without my daytimer/planner. I lost it last week and I feel lost in the world. It is totally frustrating. Today for instance is Thursday. Abby and I always go to Rhyme Time on Thursdays but I totally forgot because I have no planner. Is this a sign of getting old or am I just too addicted to my planner???
On a funny note tonight I did a presentation at cub scouts about tobacco and smoking and it was so much fun. I made this obstacle course where you make them have the handicaps of someone who has been smoking for a very long time. Lot's of laughs and hopefully not too many bumps and bruises.
If anyone sees my lovely little black planner send it home!!! PLEASE!!!

Thanksgiving

Well we had a fabulous Thanksgiving. My sister made a delicious dinner and had a houseful of people over. It was a lot of fun. I had worked a night shift on Sunday so Abby and Daddy were trying to be really quiet. When I got up to give Abby her lunch I decided to quickly blow dry my hair and it got really quiet. When I came to peek on her this is what I found. What a little angel.

After our yummy dinner we had a blast playing rock band. It was so much fun. I confess that I really only do the singing part as I am very pathetic at drums. Abby however loves to dance and here she is grooving to the beat.
I am so grateful that she loves music it makes it easy to always be singing or playing the piano and dancing around the living room. She is always up for it.

All in all we had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we are so grateful to be here in Winnipeg so close to so many great family and friends.

Thankful Thursday

Well it is almost Thanksgiving one of my favorite holidays. Gratitude is truly such an amazing quality that I hope to master someday but as for now it is a continuing goal to attain. Love this scripture about gratitude D&C 78:19 "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him even and hundredfold,yea more."
Isn't that amazing?
Anyway I am pretty grateful for these two people in my life. Ryan is an amazing husband who listens to all my little stresses and concerns and then helps me be unstressed. He is awesome. By the way he just had his birthday the big 27!!!! It was a fun event and I even bought him a pellet gun. His wish. Abby who is so much fun and always makes me smile even when I have to work a night shift and she refuses to nap she can still get a grin out of me!!
My parents on both sides. My Mom who is also having a birthday this weekend is amazing and has really taught me how to be. My Dad who has always taught me to work hard and be satisfied with your work.
Ryan's parents who have done so much for us. I feel completely spoiled by them often. In fact tonight Abby is having a sleepover so I can work my night shift and Ryan can get his exam done. I don't know how we will ever repay our parents so I will just keep trying to be a good person and hope that's enough.
I am grateful for a free country and having the gospel in my life. I am also grateful for great friends. In August my good friend left me for the north and I have really missed having such a great person to just chat with. On that note I am so grateful for technology and the ability to communicate with people no matter where they live.
Well I could go on and on I will spare you. However please take the time this weekend to tell someone how grateful you are for them because as I see every shift at work you never know what Heavenly Father has in store for you so be GRATEFUL now!

A Week in the Life

Well it has been a pretty amazingly fun week. I am so grateful to have such a fun husband and daughter who keep me smiling and busy. Our week started off with a really fun night out. We went to a concert by Meaghan Smith. She used to babysit Ryan (hehehe). She is amazingly talented and what a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice. I thoroughly enjoyed the night out. Everyone should definitely check her out.




We went out for a family bike ride. We headed out to St. Adolphe and I was able to keep up with my husband. Yeah right he let me set the pace so it was really fun and I think Abby is finally starting to enjoy the trailer and be able to entertain herself a bit better.


What else well fall is here. I love fall for all the beautiful colors. Of course I had to take a few pics of our cute Abby. Here are some her in the leaves.
I attempted to rake a big pile but she kept wanting to throw them up in the air instead.
One of our favorite events daily is to head to the school nearby and play at the playground. Since it feels like winter will soon arrive every nice day we head over and today I took the camera so just some fun shots!
Besides the park Abby loves birds almost as much so tonight we are heading over to the Fort Whyte to watch all the geese fly in I have never been but my husband tells me it is pretty amazing. Here is a pic of Abby chasing her favorite flying object at the park.

Lastly we had our Enrichment meeting on Wednesday it was called," What's in Your Purse?" It was so good. Four mini classes based on the talk from last general conference about mothers. It was very inspiring. I can't wait for this weekend to hear the prophets speak. It is definitely a challenge with a toddler to attend all four sessions but we will see what we can accomplish. This is one of my favorite pics of our new First Presidency don't they look so happy? I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Joelle

I have a pretty amazing niece whose name is Joelle. Today I took her out for breakfast for her 17th birthday. I can't believe she is 17 already well not until Thursday but still it seems like she was just born. I think she is a pretty awesome girl and this is probably the last birthday of hers that we will celebrate together in Winnipeg since she has great aspirations to leave Manitoba for the University of Alberta. It is great to live so close to my nieces and nephew here in Winnipeg and really get to know them more as friends.
I have never seen a 17 year old so busy and so motivated to do so many different things.Here are some pics from our yummy breakfast adventure.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JO!!!

Why I love being a Mom

I am just writing a random note about being a Mom today because I just had the most fun this afternoon with Abby and it was totally random and spontaneous.
When I was a kid I loved music and I used to listen to my big sister's records and make up actions to all the songs and sing my little heart out. Today I introduced that to Abby. Okay totally cheesy because really Abby doesn't really get it but she loves music and she dances and she was having fun. What more can a Mom ask? No pictures because well no one needs to see my dance moves but I just wanted to share how much fun it was and how much I love being a Mom.

Fall is in the Air

As the weather starts showing signs of what is to come Abby and I have been trying to get outside as much as possible. It often amazes me at what she can do now and how much she understands. She isn't saying much yet but she is understanding and doing things when I ask her. It is so much fun to watch her. The other day we were at the park and she was determined to climb up those rope ladders. I can say she is definitely a determined little girl and with a little help from Mom she did make it to the top. She was just beaming when she did it too. What can I say she is one smart girl!! Here is a pic of her and her friend Marie-Claude they were so cute walking around the duck pond holding hands.
Ryan headed back to school for his last semester of his undergrad. It is exciting but scary thinking that we are really going to be entering the real world soon. This semester doesn't seem so bad thus far and Abby and I get to see Daddy a bit which is so nice.
My most exciting event is our basement is finally complete. Right before our trip we got our subfloor in and then after we got home our carpet. We decided since it was empty we might as well paint it. Now we are moving everything back in and it looks great. It feels like a brand new basement. Abby and I are enjoying the extra playing area and I am enjoying having my bedroom back.
My favorite thing about being a Mom this week is Abby has learned how to give kisses and she puckers her cute little lips and gives me kisses all day. Nothing is as great as getting hugs and kisses all day. Who says motherhood isn't the greatest job ever!! We also discovered we have a little corn on the cob lover. Yesterday at Grandma and Grandpa's we gave her half a cob and she devoured it.

Smith Family Holidays

Well time goes way too fast and we are home from our holidays already. We spent a couple of days over in P.E.I. On the way over we took a ferry ride which was fun. Abby loved running around on the deck until the big horn sounded signaling time to return to our cars she came racing back to her Dad. We stayed in Charlottetown for two nights it was so nice. The weather continued to be super hot and beautiful.
On Saturday we headed up to Cavendish and Green Gables. I loved seeing the house that the book was based on. We headed on a couple of hikes through Lover's Lane and The Haunted Wood. Although the Haunted Wood wasn't that scary at all. We went to the bookstore there and there was this cute asian girl about the same age as Abby who kept staring at us. She finally came over and started pushing Abby around in the stroller it was so cute. I bought Abby a child's version of the story and I read it to her that night. I know so cheesy but fun. In the afternoon we hit the village of Avonlea which was super duper expensive but we thought we probably won't be here again so we should just do it. We got in and it was lamo. So mad at myself. However there was a little petting zoo which Abby loved so it was really all worth it. We hit the beach after that which was so beautiful. Every single place I have been too has been so beautiful.
We hit the Charlottetown Branch for church on Sunday. I met one of my good friends sister in laws. She was so sweet and I was like I would have never guessed that you are Matt's sister and then she totally imitated Matt to the "t" which was hilarious. After church we hit the road and took a long scenic drive down the coast of PEI to the bridge. It was so beautiful once again but it took quite a long time and by the time we hit the bridge we were so hot and tired.
The bridge is really quite an amazing piece of architecture. However since the Honda sits pretty low the view on the bridge wasn't that amazing I took a pic to show it off but I won't bore you with the cm of ocean that you can visualize.
We finally arrived at the cottage which was totally awesome. It was a beautiful evening so we walked along the beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. They have amazing sunsets on the East Coast. Our week at the cottage was super relaxing. Abby and I hit the beach every low tide to collect shells. You would laugh at the big bag I brought home. Oh well. The weather turned from amazing the first week to gloomy and rainy most of the second week so we didn't get much beach time but Abby enjoyed the puddles, I learned to drive a stick shift, and we hit a few towns in the area. We hit the local museum which has an exhibit on a giantess Anna Swain. So funny. We cooked up some lobster well Ryan did and he did an awesome job. I was a little nervous about eating something that was moving 15 minutes earlier but I overcame that once I tasted it.
On our last weekend we headed into Truro to spend some time with Ryan's Grandparents. They took us out for some fish and chips and we played some great crib. On Sunday we had a get together with two of Ryan's aunts and their families. It was so fun to meet everyone.
Well this is way too long and I need to get off the computer but all in all we had a great holiday and are back home ready for real life again. I have to leave you with this video of our little puddle jumper. I hear it runs in the family. Aunt Beth this is for you.

Holidays

Well we have almost been on the East Coast for a week and it has been awesome. Tonight we are vegging so I thought I would write a little note and post a few pics. First of all Abby did amazing on the long plane ride. In fact she finally fell asleep when the turbulence hit
We spent a few days in Halifax area. We spent a few touristy days in downtown area which was so much fun. We had yummy yummy food. We tasted what they claim is the best ice cream in Canada but I wasn't so convinced. Our car broke down right before a roundabout which was fun in the middle of rush hour. Luckily Ryan's uncle was only 20 minutes away. We were able to stay with my friend's Mom and her husband. They were super duper nice to us and leant us their car for the evening and morning. We saw some amazing gardens in the city and then we headed off to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house.
Nova Scotia is so beautiful with lots of hills and trees. I couldn't believe it. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa live in Truro so we spent a night and day there. It was pretty fun as they had never met Abby before. They have this amazing park and hike into some waterfalls which was really fun until Abby did a faceplant on the cement. Not so much fun and she has a huge bump on her head today.
Today we headed off for PEI. I am kind of a nerd but seriously I loved Anne of Green Gables growing up and this has always been a dream of mine to come to PEI. Once again another beautiful province. We live in such a beautiful country. The ferry coming over was fun and a nice break since it is blistering hot and our amazing little car doesn't have air conditioning. Sure makes you appreciate the times you live in. Think of those pioneers I don't know how they did it. Don't get me wrong I am ultra grateful to have our little red Honda it has just been super duper hot here.
So that's all for now but think of me tomorrow as I visit The Green Gables site and hopefully my husband doesn't get too bored. He is pretty sweet since he has been here before and he keeps patiently listening to me oohing and aahing over everything. There are a lot of more great pics but you will just have to wait.

Reunion/Anniversary

Well time seems to go by so fast these days I can't seem to keep up with it all. For the long weekend Abby and I headed out to Alberta it was a weekend packed with fun. We flew out on Saturday morning and we had a pretty good flight. I had booked a super early flight thinking Abby would sleep but she was far too excited for that. She wanted to touch everything and move everywhere. Luckily it was only a two hour flight so we did great.
Saturday was just my own siblings at my parents farm it was so much fun to see the cousins get to know each other and play together. I can't believe how many cousins Abby has already it is crazy. Here is a pic of all of them on the steps. We were missing four in this pic. Two of my brother's daughters couldn't come because of work and my brother in Colorado didn't come until Sunday with his two boys. Fun times and Abby was loving that Grandma let her have a pink popsicle. The rest of the weekend we had most of my cousins on my Dad's side of the family. It was so much fun. My favorite part was we all hiked the farm and my Dad and his siblings pointed out special places they had when they were growing up. It was really neat. After the hike we headed down to the river for some refreshment. Of course we built the traditional rock bridge. For some reason every reunion a rock bridge gets built. Initally Abby wasn't too keen on the cold water and was not going in there but after a bit she sat right in the water with all her clothes on and was screaming when I took her out. Kids!!
Here is a fun pic of some of the cousins getting a ride back to the farm house. We definitely have a great family heritage to be proud of and it was really a great time to get together and visit with each other again.
The only thing missing was my cute hubby who had to work. Next time I am going to work extra hard to make it happen that he can come because both Abby and I missed him. My cousin Liana graciously gave us a ride back to Calgary let me stay at her house and then drove us to the airport. When I put Abby to bed that night we tried to put her in the trundle bed and she totally came out climbed up the stairs and was like hi Mom. Too funny.
All in all it was an awesome weekend.

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? Three years already. It seems crazy. After a crazy shift at work I came home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and then Ryan and I headed to a movie. I have to admit the best present ever besides the flowers was Grandma and Grandpa took Abby for a sleepover and so we got to stay out late and then sleep in. I am really a simple girl and simple things like that really do make my day sometimes.

The countdown is on for our family vacation to Nova Scotia and P.E.I. We leave next Monday for two whole weeks. I am so excited to see that part of the country meet some of Ryan's relatives and just have some fun family time. Only five more sleeps!!!

Summer is here

Well since girls camp it feels like life has been a whirlwind. Between working, Abby, and yard work I feel completely exhausted but that is the joy of summer right. Long days and warm weather. Abby got her first hair cut and she looks completely adorable. Here are some before and after pictures.

My old roomies and I got together and went for brunch. It was so much fun to catch up with the Berrydale Girls. Since we lived together we have all gotten married. Theresa is almost ready to defend her Phd and Sara is getting ready to have her first baby. Man how time flies. We had so much fun at 129 Berrydale so that was a nice treat to meet up with them. By the way Cora's is delicious for brunch if anyone is looking for a great place in Winnipeg.


My sister Leslye came out for two weeks. We did lot's of shopping including a little day trip to the States. We had so much fun on the roadtrip and had a lot of laughs. We also took a trip to the zoo, lots of walks, and just fun sister time. Wouldn't it be so much fun if she lived closer. Abby definitely thinks so. Aunt Leslye was able to watch Abby a few times and I know Abby had a blast. Here is a pic of Abby enjoying a bite of her first hot dog.

Thankfully vacation time is fastly approaching. July has been crazy since I have been working a few extra shifts to make up for the long weekend off and two weeks at the end of August off. I can't wait to go home this weekend and see all of my brothers and sisters at the Smith Family Reunion. It will be awesome to see all my cousins and their kids as well. I can't wait to see those mountains. YEAH!!!! Then only a few short weeks and we head off for a family vacation with Ryan, Abby, and I. Nova Scotia here we come. I am so looking forward to those two weeks where no one is working and we can do pretty much whatever we feel like doing. We will also get to introduce Abby to her great grandparents for the first time and I will meet some of Ryan's relatives for the first time. Of course I get to visit PEI where my favorite childhood character was created "Anne of Green Gables" Only 19 more sleeps but who's counting??

FYI I had two meals of steamed green beans from my garden this week so YUMMY!!!! I love that I am eating food that I grew.

Girls Camp

Well girls camp was so much fun. Despite hearing Nurse Smith what seemed like a billion times I had an amazing experience. I was able to really help a few girls and I was able to deal with each problem that came my way.My testimony of priesthood blessings was strengthened as I watched a girl who was in total pain get a blessing and then was up and about playing games.
I was able to teach a workshop about having confidence in who we are as daughters of God and ignoring those negative thoughts and opinion of others. I hope they all got it so they can avoid years of worrying about what others think.The only downfall was I didn't have my adorable Abby with me or her Dad. It was also great to be there with my sister and neices. We definitely all had a great time.

Yesterday we were at my sisters for dinner and then were playing some Rock Band. This game was so much fun but definitely the cutest was Abby. She loves music already but check out how she is a natural with the microphone. What a cutie!!!
Just a few more pics of our cutie pie. On the top pic she is in her cute dress that Aunt Candice sent from Africa and on the bottom one of her cute bathtime pics. Enjoy!!

MS Bike Tour

Well we recently booked our cabin for our weekend away in September.Ryan is once again participating in the MS Bike Tour. He will be biking 140km over 2 days in Riding Mountain National Park. He was able to do it two years ago and it was such a fun experience. We both feel like this is such an amazing event and when you have someone close to you who has MS it makes it that more special. Anyway I just wanted to let everyone know about it and if you interested in helping him reach his goal of $1000 feel free to follow the link below and donate.

Ryan's MS Pledge PageHere he is crossing the finish line in 2006.

Off to Camp

Well tomorrow I leave for girls camp to be the camp nurse. Last year I had a really great time at girls camp except for the fact that I had a two month old and we were still getting to know each other. Luckily we survived.I am sure it will be an adventure but it will be the first time I leave Abby for any length of time. Tonight she didn't want to go to bed so great and it made me slightly sad to leave her for five days but I am sure we will both survive.
Since I don't have a computer at my leisure anymore it is currently sitting on our bedroom floor patiently waiting for something to happen with our basement. I haven't had much time to do blogging but Ryan is done his summer school now so I have the laptop again.
Abby is doing great. Today she tried to run at church and it didn't go well face plant on the floor lot's of crying after that one. She has turned into a bruiser child. It is pretty crazy how fast she can go now. Parenthood definitely gets more amazing as the months go by.
Just for a little update my garden is doing awesome. My lettuce is growing fabulously and I am pretty sure I will have my own garden salad this summer. YEAH!!!


Here we are in our summer eyewear. Isn't it great to have sunny days where you need a hat and sunglasses?

Murphy's Law

I entitled this Murphy's law because my last post was all about gratitude and being grateful for everything I have been given which I have been doing pretty good at least I thought. Anyway last week when we got the torrential rain here our little basement didn't do so hot. I was working a couple of night shifts and my poor husband tried to break it to me gently that our basement had flooded. WHAT??? Anyway not so much fun as we have had to gut the entire basement move everything from the basement to various places in my house and garage and have a continuous fan going and dehumudifier to try and dry the place out. This is not so good for my organized and neat personality. Clutter and I tend to not get along but here I am learning a lesson in patience and gratitude yet again. Patience in that it is going to be a long summer of living in the upstairs only so please please let the sun shine and gratitude because my husband is so handy and did a lot of work on his own. We have had so much help from our inlaws and the Barfuss's what we would do without them? On Sunday night we discovered more leakage in our spare room and our amazing hometeachers came over for a couple of hours and helped clear the room out. Total testimony to me of what the gospel is really about. My nephew Ben saved me on Friday night by coming over and watching Abby while Ryan did some demo work and then again on Sunday those Barfuss kids saved us again. So grateful to have such awesome neices and nephews so close. Abby has not been herself the last couple of days maybe she doesn't like caous (not sure how to spell that) either??
On a fun note a couple of weeks ago we took Abby out on her first canoe trip. It was so much fun and she loved it for the first half hour or so. We canoed out to where Ryan proposed to me AHH!! Okay we are kind of sappy but it was fun nonetheless. Theses are all pics of her in Grandma and Grandpa's canoe because we obviously couldn't take pics of ourselves.

Joelle and Nicole took such good care of Abby on Sunday and gave her her first pedicure. It was so cute and Abby was definitely having a riot.