Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my!

Today, we went to the zoo! Michael had taken the day off today, so we get an extra long weekend together. It's so easy to just hang around at home on weekends like this if we don't make plans. So we made plans to go to the zoo as a family, and it was so much fun! The Assiniboine Park Zoo has made a lot of changes, including adding a Polar Bear exhibit, which comes highly recommended! They've thought of everything, including a really awesome inside play area that Canaan was just a little to small to appreciate. We definitely had more fun than him I think, but he managed to stay awake for a good chunk of it! If you do go bring comfy shoes, lots of water and a stroller for your wee one, unless of course your a fan of baby wearing and walking for a long time. We also ended up finding a nice coffee shop to wind down and rest our feet for a bit. Then we headed to Ikea for supper which ended up being a much longer stay than anticipated with of course a bigger bill at the end ;) 

All in all, such a wonderful day with my little family! Thankful for time off and a beautiful day! 

Tired, tired boy!

The only picture we took together. (iPhone taken with VSCO cam) 

They call me Mom..

Once again Mother's day has come and gone. I had the privilege of celebrating this year with my little family, and it really was such a gift. I know mother's day can be very hard for a lot of people. Whether you haven't been able to have children of your own yet, you have children in heaven, you don't have a mother or your mother is no longer on this earth. This day can be hard, and although this day has never been difficult for me, I can understand why it would be for some. But, I realized something this mother's day that i've never really thought of before. Mother's day, in a round about way, is so much more than celebrating mothers. It's more about celebrating the women in your life. Whether your an aunt, a sister, a mother, a grandmother or a friend, each women has impacted someone's life one way or another. Even though I get to celebrate my mom and mother in law, I too am thankful for the other women in my life who have impacted me in huge ways. This world needs women. Strong, Godly, loving women to care for, nurture and fight for others. So thank-you, to my mom, mother in law, friends, and mentors for making such a huge impact on my life.

I to am a Mom, and was thankful this weekend for that gift. It really truly is a gift, something that I never want to take for granted. We are blessed beyond measure, in more ways than one and I am beyond grateful because I know I don't deserve any of it.

Yesterday was not only Mother's day but also ten on ten, so I now leave you with some pictures as well :)

Started our morning off by hearing daddy preach at a church in Brandon. I'm so, so very proud of him.

Each woman got a rose for Mother's Day. I got 4 for being the speakers wife, perks I guess :)

Mother's Day cards with help from Daddy.

Explored Brandon for wee bit!

Took advantage of the last 2 minutes of frappuchino happy hour for the day.

Love this little boy so much. 

Ice cream cones.

Bed time stories with daddy while mom catches up with a friend!

It was a good day. 

Eight months later..

It happened. Canaan got older. It gets me every month. I just spent the last 45 minutes looking at old photos, and it blows my mind how much he changes and grows. Sometimes I just have to do that, look at pictures and reminisce. That tiny little bundle who made the car seat look gigantic now makes it look to small. The little boy who used to lie so still on the couch or the floor now moves so fast that sometimes its hard to keep up.

This past month he popped out two teeth, learned to army crawl, has been trying his hardest to stand up with the assistance of furniture, played in the grass for the first time (which included eating it), and learned how to suck through a straw.

His personality shines through every moment. This kid knows what he wants, and when he wants it! He's not afraid to let us know how he feels, and can be a major goofball. He has a sense of adventure that's contagious, and will put anything he finds in his mouth. Poor lady bug. He's not afraid of anything, and really doesn't like the word no. It gets used a lot on a regular basis.

We've begun a new chapter in parenting, it's called discipline. I don't like it, but out of pure desire for this little boy to remain safe, it's necessary. It blows my mind how it's built into us to do the opposite of what we've been told. Evidence that we really are born into sin, and need grace so badly. So, we're learning to extend grace but also to discipline when necessary.

I'm learning that I compare myself to other moms way to much. Unfortunately, it daily hinders me in my job as Canann's  mom. The funny thing is, 90% of that comparing is done because of a photograph. How much truth does a photograph really hold? It's really easy to look put together and happy in a picture, and it's  really easy to be dishonest in our caption of said picture. If you see any of my pictures, please don't compare yourself to them. Behind them is probably a pile of dirty laundry, an argument between a husband and wife, and a screaming baby who doesn't want his picture taken. I don't want to stop taking pictures, and I don't want you to either...but let's be real in our representation of what's going on. And, mom's, let's stop comparing ourselves to one another. After all, it us ours kids really want.

Eight months later I still feel like I don't know what i'm doing, but I love the adventure. I hear a talking baby who just woke up from a nap, so i'm going to go hug my little eight month old.

xx Rebekah

Easter

I realize that Easter is already a distant memory, but our family gatherings were spread out this year so I wanted to wait before I posted anything.

It was such a blessing to have my parents with us this year, I don't remember the last time we spent Easter together. Plus, it was Canaan's first Easter and i'm realizing that I love celebrating holidays with a child- it just makes it so much more fun!

Michael had the privelege of preaching at our Good Friday service at church. Unfortunatley, I was stuck in the nursery for most of it so I only heard bits and peices. Regardless, I'm so proud of him! We also had 5 days with Michael during the long weekend which was an extra bonus! Very thankful for time spent as a family. On Easter Sunday we had our gathering with the Bergen side of the family, not everyone was able to make it out but it was still a great time catching up with everyone again. On Monday we found ourselves in Winnipeg doing some shopping, which we hadn't done in a very long time! It always ends up being a long day when we head to the city, but it was fun.

This past Sunday we had our gathering with the Koldyk side, which is always such a hoot!

All in all, Easter was a success. Not only was it spent with family and a ridiculous amount of food, we also were able to reflect on the Gospel and the wonderful gift of Salvation and Grace. I'm always reminded at Easter time that the message of Easter is something that I shouldn't be hearing only at Easter, but every day of my life. It's a challenge, but the Gospel itself needs to effect our lives daily. It was a good reminder.

This was the only picture that turned out, silly brother in laws. 

Driving grandpas truck with uncle Matt

Ten on Ten: April

Once again, I can't believe it's April! Spring has finally sprung here (I think) after a few reminders that snow still exists. It was such a beautiful day out- and was fairly calm, not a whole lot happened! I spent a good chunk of the day at home, alone with Canaan (he was sleeping so I was pretty much by myself) which hasn't happened in a long time! 

This little project always reminds me to pick up my camera, and to see my everyday occurrences in a different way. I always appreciate the little things a lot more when I take a step back and look at them from a different angle. 

Today we:

Played in the living room after breakfast. This included: finding the DVD shelf and pulling them off, tipping over a light,

Knocking over a picture frame and removing every toy from the toy basket. All before 9 am. I have my hands full! 

Found ourselves out for breakast. Our excuse was the power went out at home, but I'm pretty sure we all just wanted bacon and eggs. 

Really enjoyed the blue skies and warmer temperatures! (iPhone photo)

Enjoyed the brightness of the sun and the light that fresh flowers brings to a home. I would have fresh flowers all the time if I could!

Napped. Well, Canaan did. 

Had brown water. That's right folks, that is not apple juice! This came straight from our taps! It's the power outages fault. I was humbled and reminded how privileged we are to have clean water on a regular basis! 

Did this: watched love comes softly while munching on popcorn and sippin tea. My excuse? I had a napping baby (who did wake up eventually, so I didn't finish the movie), dirty water which rendered my dish duties and laundry washing useless. I had to wash my laundry from being washed, it was pretty comical. 

Touched grass (and ate it) for the first time! And got ushered back inside because the bees were everywhere! 

Had the privelege of seeing the Taylors perform tonight for a One Hope Canada fundraising concert. It was great, and the gospel was clear. I enjoyed it! 

And that was my day (yes, I'm short one photo. I'm a rule breaker! Haha, not!) 

It's a lot of pictures of Canaan, and to be honest I'm very disappointed in how my photos are looking once they're uploaded to blogger- BUT, today was a good day. We enjoyed our blessing, and probably didn't thank the giver enough for being so gracious. So I'm going to go do that. 

Goodnight!

A recipe: mini egg cookies

This just had to happen. Anything with mini eggs has to be good right? And they are exactly that, so good! 

I was a little skeptical at first, mostly because large quantities of mini eggs can be expensive. But they were on sale at my local grocery store, so I took that as a sign :) Plus it's easter, and for some reason I'm a huge fan of baking according to holidays. 

Seriously, go buy yourself some mini eggs and make these! 

Mini Egg Cookies 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

6 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 10 oz bag of mini eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*C 

2. Chop the mini eggs ( I just used a ziploc bag and a rolling pin)

3. Cream butter, shortening and sugar together

4. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla 

5. In a seperate bowl whisk all remaining dry ingredients together 

6. Add to butter mixture- combine then add candy pieces ( be sure to keep some full candy eggs to decorate the top of the cookies with!)

7. Cook for 8-10 minutes

Enjoy! 

Another hospital checklist..

Before I went into labor I researched and researched what to bring to the hospital. I packed and re packed my hospital bag I don't know how many times! In the end I didn't use near as much stuff as I thought I would, and there were some things that I wished we had with us. So, I thought i'd compile a little list of what I would bring next time we find our selves heading to the labor room :)

1. Your own pillow. It's not necessary, but I was SO thankful I brought my own pillow. It was a little piece of home that made me feel a lot more comfortable. Plus, those hospital pillows are about as flat as a pancake. I should of brought a pillow for the husband, I did bring a blanket for him but I think he would of appreciated his own pillow too. 

2. Diapers and wipes. The hospital does give you some, but we were thankful we also had our own. We went through the supply the hospital gave us very quickly, and I was to shy to ask for more :) Plus, you'll never know if you'll need them on the way home from the hospital!

3. Some kind of body wash and shampoo. I was able to have a bath the first night in the hospital, and it felt so good! I realize that everyone's stay will look different so this one will have to be up to you. Although, it did feel really good to take a shower to before we went home! And don't forget stuff for your hubby, they'll be thankful for a nice hot shower after a while, too!

4. Cell phone and camera. We really wanted to be able to notify as many people personally as we could before it got out onto social media (that didn't happen) but we still tried! Plus, who doesn't want memories captured of your first few hours and days with your new little one!

5. Slippers. I wish I had brought slippers. I brought a cheap pair of flip flops but didn't try them on first, they did not fit! So I wore my every day sandals and it would of been a lot more comfortable to have a pair of slippers.

6. A soother. Not everyone will agree with me on this one, but it came in handy! 

7. A book or some games. We didn't really have anything like that a long, except our phones. We did a lot of waiting and it would of been nice to have something to do. We did watch some TV, but that gets old after a while.

8. A few sleepers, with zippers! I only had sleepers with buttons, and although they worked for a fussing baby who does not like getting changed the zipper ones are much easer to use!

9. Some swaddling blankets. The hospital give you one, but I found it wasn't quite big enough. Plus, it's nice to wrap your baby in them for the ride home!

10. A water bottle or travel mug. After giving birth all I wanted to do was DRINK. My husband had to go back and forth to the kitchen a lot because the cups were so small. It would of been nice to just fill up my water bottle the first time. 

11. A comfy night gown. I was thankful to change out of the hospital smock when I knew visitors were coming. Not needing to constantly check to see if your rear was showing was a plus ;)

12. A comfy going home outfit. I was thankful for stretchy pants and a loose fitting top. I was so comfortable. You will really only need one outfit and one set of PJ's, unless your in the hospital for than a few days. I over packed- and brought way to many options! Although, I do wish I had brought a sweater a long. 

13. Formula, just in case! We needed to supplement with formula before we left the hospital. We were given a little but did have to go out and buy some. Having a little back up stash at home just in case would of been helpful.

14. Nursing Cover. I didn't bring mine with me and just tried to use a blanket- it didn't work as nice. When people are visiting and your baby wants to eat, it's nice to be able to cover up.

15. A journal. I wish I would of brought one so I could write down my memories when they were fresh in my mind. Granted, I wasn't really thinking about it and should of been sleeping. But it would of been nice to have the option. 

16. Hair elastics and bobby pins. I hate it when my hair is in my face when I'm trying to do something. My hair didn't look perfect, but it was so nice to have it away from my face. 

These are just some of the things that were a necessity to me. Obviously, I'm missing the necessities like a car seat, diaper bag, tooth brush all that stuff. I did have all of that a long, but to me a lot of that stuff was a given. The things I listed were things that I didn't necessarily think of or things that really made the stay a lot more comfortable. 

For those of you going to visit new moms and dads in the hospital, bring them something! We had friends bring us some coffee and it was such a nice treat! We also were given some other food like fruit and what not, it was nice to have something to eat that wasn't hospital food. We appreciated the kindness of others!