The One and Only Shot

No one gets to see a body shot....

But this will probably be one of the only photos posted

That will be of my stomach.

Ever.

Baby 4 comes in less than a few weeks

I should be getting ready

Should is the key word.

But instead life just keeps purring along.

Penny is impressed with how big the baby must be.

She has taken up the roll of official "bender"

She picks up everything.

Hopefully this will keep up post-baby!!

I must look like I am haggard or something

Even dusty is starting to help out in the house

(outside of his "normal" tasks)

It's a good thing Christmas is but a week away

Because I am totally ready to go into hibernation mode!

Getting ready for church

Most Sundays are crazy.

Chores, breakfast, 3 little girls, me, lessons, bags, talks, and then dusty.

This Sunday should of been nuts

But it wasn't too bad.

I procrastinates getting off of the couch as long as humanly possible

And

In doing so

Managed to snap a photo of the girls in front of the living room tree.

All I want for Christmas

This front tooth has been loose for a long while....

It's been bugging Lucy 

She even asked her dentist to pull it out!

He assured her it would be a couple months till it fell out....

That was 2 weeks ago....

It's amazing what a persistent personality does to a slightly wiggly tooth!

Toque

I am sure Lucy will be very upset if she ever figures out that penny was wearing her Christmas present before her!!!!!!

So shhh!

I have been knitting up a storm trying to get it all done and this is a gift at Lucy's request.

She picked the yarn

She told me exactly what she wanted.

Now she will just have to wait.... 

I just hope the pom pom is big enough!!

Planning

It's hard to believe that this was two years ago,

So much has changed.

I have been thinking about life "plans"

We were very happy two years ago.

Ellie was just starting grade 1

We liked our house.

We were busy making plans and living

and no one would of even guessed this is where we would be now.

we are happy now too.

(you'll love this lead-in to the new thought...)

and we are planning still

like for the storm that hit us.

We prepared

 but no matter what preparations are made

there will always be surprises...

like frozen water lines.

sheesh.

the water lines weren't even the biggest battle..

it was putting on my pants

and taking off my boots...

and i wouldn't of been able to plan on how many times

i would actually have to do those two tasks!

Ellie out doing sheep chores.

I think they were happy to see her 

after the long cold night.

I guess the point is..

have fun making plans

but

they probably won't work out 

and 

you'll still be happy

even if you are trudging through a mountain of snow

with a hammer

screwdriver

and kettle.....

horse parts and paranoia

Today I was rubbing lotion into Penny's feet

she has really dry skin

but that is beside the point.

I am rubbing the bottom of her foot

and she looks at me

like only a 3 year old can

and asks,

"why is my frog so ticklish?"

I cried.

This may be a sign that we might spend too much time

with our furry friends in the barn 

and not enough time

with the human variety.

(a frog is a part of the bottom of a horse hoof)

Lately we have spend more than are usual

time out with the horses.

We have been moving pens and changing up

who is where 

so

we spend more time checking on them making sure they are okay.

Yesterday was no exception

so Penny and I go out and check everyone.

When we got up to the top of the hill

(which takes a while between her short legs and my lack of being able to breathe)

we noticed Biscuits

(my old mare)

wouldn't use one of her legs....

I couldn't find anything wrong with it.

but

with the way our week has been going

(Dusty's horse broke it's leg... and not in a normal horse break it's leg sorta way)

(and two horses pushed through fences)

panic and paranoia set in.

Anyways

she is going to be fine

my very handy and helpful neighbour came down

he figured out what was going on

and today she is back to her

regular hay-burnin' self.

I am very much looking forward to sharing the load

and perhaps with all my "free" time I might actually

teach Penny

the parts of a HUMAN foot!

Cookies and Soup

I tired to write a post a couple of days ago 

but

I just couldn't get my head together.

We have been busy doing lots of things as usual

the kids are thrilled it's Christmas

we made Christmas tree cookies today

they decorated them with mm ornaments and green frosting

I am surprised they are sleeping from all the sugar.

We also made a huge pot of soup

so 

hopefully we can just eat that and I won't have to cook for a while.

The girls have been busy skating

and riding

and playing

and cleaning.

We have been trying to get our act together and get a few neglected places sorted out.

it has worked out pretty well.

I hosted a girls night out last week and did a toy swap

Dusty and I took the left over toys to the sally-ann

it turned out pretty good.

Dusty crossed off his "good deed" for the week

although I am pretty sure he could of crossed out a few more....

I decided to paint the office...

So

dusty painted the office this week and it looks great

so much better and brighter.

The girls love it

and I love it

which means the room is actually being used again for what it was supposed to be used for.

Everyone has been super helpful lately

which either means

I am cantankerous or

I look like I need help

either way it's been nice to have the kids be extra thoughtful.

Especially Penny...

I don't remember the last time I had to bend down to get anything!

This week felt long

but I think that next week will probably be better.

It's supposed to be warmer

which means Dusty and the girls will be out riding their ponies

and the chickens will lay more eggs

and there won't be frozen hoses to string out and drain

and its report cards and the last week of November and the relief society Christmas party

and I don't have a doctor's appointment...

Tomorrow promises to be the start of a good week...

a Winters Evening

as promised...

some skating pictures.

Dusty took the kiddos in during the week

This was Penny's first attempt at real skates

up until now it has been bobskates

she was pretty good.

she was impressed with herself

I might actually get a hockey player.

I am not going to hold my breath though.

This Month

November

I haven't taken nearly as many pictures as I should be.

Lucy is in skating 

and loves it

Dusty has been skating with her during the week

plus her lesson

We will probably put her in for the winter term.

Penny has enjoyed being an only child

she does look forward to her sisters coming home

she has developed a new friendship with her dad

it involves fast speeds

snow

and the quad.

Ellie went into school this year

really looking forward to the year

and while she is enjoying school and her friends

she is beginning her retreat

to the "quiet" of home.

Dusty never feels like he has enough time

which is not new

but added to his plate are all of the things to get ready for winter

plus we had a really hectic fall.

I have all my Christmas stuff out and most of it up

I have slowed my days down.

I am back to knitting

(multiple things)

and crafting

and baking

and cleaning

all the quiet centering activities in which I love

I am almost done creating my gifts

it feels good.

With the snow and the melting 

the riding is slowing down

(that and it's almost impossible to get on)

I might need a stool to get into bed never mind on a horse.

the animals are getting settled into a new winter routine.

I used to love the snow and winter

and then as I have had children

I like it less

it's a season for a  lot more work

but

I have appreciated the weather this year.

It's slowing me down.

giving me more excuses to just be home.

Hopefully next post I can bombard you with awesome pictures of the girls and all their November activities...

Look out Disney!

we have a lot of dress-up clothes.

a LOT!

AND

because of that

the girls

have the luxury

of a costume change.

So

school costumes have to be

-easy

-able to do school in

-no make-up

-not scary

Lucy picked Brave aka Merida

and she was fab!

although I don't know if the hair was "school friendly"

Ellie decided to be Tangled aka Rapunzel

and she was lovely.

She loved her costume so much that 

she decided not to partake

in the costume change

for trick or treating.

Our evening Coven.

except for Ellie

Lucy won best girl costume at the church

(we decided to hit up the church instead of braving the wind)

a super smart plan...

and now our candy is packed away

so I don't eat it

and 

Halloween is officially OVER!