Our Family & Our Life

Once March comes around I like to think we are the right side of winter and before I know it,  it's mid-April..  The weather has been so warm and sunny lately, we haven't even complained about the two days of rain! Lots going on as always.. As I previously mentioned, Colin has been busy at work and has been rewarded for his hard work and dedication by receiving a promotion.  He officially started March 15 although he's been working his 'old' job and the 'new' 'job for a few weeks before then.  I'm so pleased and proud of him  😤 Isla continues to soldier on at school albeit virtually or as I like to call it pajama school - she throws on a hoody just before it starts... Silly girl but I'd probably do the same.  It was announced this afternoon that schools will remain indefinitely closed until the case numbers go down 😕  The variants are out of control in our area and while she is safer at school than many other places, I'm glad she's at h...

Just so you know, it's my plan not to post as often as I did when I originally started this blog. One reason being, Isla doesn't allow photos nearly as often as she did 10 years ago ... Fair enough... Which leads me to the big news, her birthday.  13. See the previous post and while there was no party or Mandarin birthday dinner she did see her Oma and we spent time with Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jim while enjoying Chinese take out (even better than Manadrin). As for Colin, what is he up to?  Spoiling the cats, mainly Izzy, the world's most annoying and talkative cat (she also broke my dishwasher a few weeks ago).  She's a 'daddy's girl' now that Isla is 'too big' for that role (no, not really, once a daddy's girl, always a daddy's girl!).  He's been trying to get Isla and I to play checkers but neither of us are really interested.  Together, Colin and I watched the Queen's Gambit on Netflix and that peaked mild interest in chess but he tho...

One of my last posts 10 years ago was about Isla's 3rd birthday: 3+10=13!!   Yikes, the quickest 10 years of my life.  When did my baby girl get so big? Truthfully, I feel like the teenage years have been upon us the last few months 😑😒 but she has always been such a source of joy in our lives from day one.     I - nitiative . Takes her work seriously and keeps her room tidy. S - illy . Always up for a game of laser tag with the cats. L - oving . Speaks kindly and willing to lend a hand. A - dds A LOT of laundry to the weekly load count 😆🧺   We’re so thankful for her. Love you Baby Girl 🎂 'Til next time, Colin, Heather & Isla

Has it really been 10 years since my last post? We all look a little bit older - one of us appreciates that more than the other two. It's hard to believe and so much has obviously happened. Colin showed me this little gem of a blog the other night and I quickly learned how much I missed it and what a great way to memorialize our family life.   Significantly, since the last post, Colin became a Canadian citizen  in 2014: Both he and Isla are dual citizens - British and Canadian. Why is this important?  If you read the first half of the blog, you will have noticed that Colin was gone, a lot, for 5 or 6 weeks at a time.  That was because he couldn't legally live or work in Canada.  God blessed him with his permanent residence in 2010 and as soon as he qualified for citizenship, he applied.  We have been together, all the time, for the last 10 years! I don't miss those days alone but it taught me many things like patience, trust and anything worth...

.... and this blog has gone fishing or should I say biking :-) I'm not sure when or even if I will continue blogging but I'll be thinking about it over the summer.. Enjoy & stay safe!

Isla doesn't watch alot of Barney but I like it when she does because they sing alot of the 'old' kid songs that I knew as a child. The one song she loves from Barney and that we've started singing every night before bed is the 'Barney Song'.  I don't know the real song name but that's what we call it. She sounds a bit gravelly as she's had a bad cold and cough for the last few weeks so trust me when I say it's not a Larne accent as so many Facebook tried to tell me!!  :-) She's our little performer and will never disappoint an audience!

Kaiaboa. It kinda sounds like a Hawaiian word. It's an Isla word. Don't ask me (or her) what it means.  It could be used a noun, verb, adjective.  It doesn't matter.  Use it whenever you want too. She started saying it about a month ago and it's been heard more frequently everday since.  She'll speak "Isla" when we're trying to have a conversation and then she'll say all this gobbli-gook with alot of 'kaiaboa's' mixed in.  She loves to have the last word.  I wonder where she gets it from. Colin. 

My 2nd blog post of the day! Our spring storm is still adding to the already 2 feet of snow that fell this morning.... Looks like another 2.5 hour drive home for Colin today!

As I write this, a spring snow storm is blowing outside.  It's hard to watch, I'm so tired of snow but in light of what is happening in Japan and other countries around the world, it's nothing.  Besides, it'll probably be gone tomorrow.  At least Isla was excited to see it this morning and has plans to go make snow angels this afternoon after her nap. Colin has started his new job. He works out of two locations which he wasn't counting on but so be it.  Despite the long commute it's a much better job than the first one.  Normally his drive is about 1 hr 10 mins. each way but the snow slowed even the hardiest Canadian drivers down this morning.  I think my longest commute was 3 hours when I lived in Waterdown and worked in Mississauga.  Overall he's adjusting and learning new things everyday.  The current manager is retiring in June and he'll be taking over so he has the responsibility of picking this guys brain before he leaves and do...

As I say, another year older, another year wiser, another year healthy and another year to be thankful! It's bittersweet for me to think that in three short years, Colin is taking me to Tahiti for my 40th!  Yeah, right, in my dreams but I keep reminding him just in case we win the lottery in the meantime.... Do you like Colin's birthday annoucement for the neighbourhood? It snowed again on Sunday (my birthday) so he was outside shovelling the driveway and sidewalks and found a bit of spare time to create this 'birthday cake'.  I didn't go out to see it until later that night because it was cold outside ... brrr... but my family came over in the evening for cake and coffee and kept talking about it so I had to go out and take a peek for myself... It was still cold btw...  What a sweet guy I have?!?  LOL Anyways, it wouldn'be a birthday without cake, right? Colin baked it and decorated it and Isla helped me blow out the candles as she is now a pro at it....

Our 'baby' turned 3 yesterday!  This is the first year she knew what it meant to have a birthday and wanted to wear her birthday hat.  She knew she was going to be 3 and knew her birthday was in February.  She really wanted..... ... a 'bue buttefly' birthday cake!  We celebrated on the 16th rather than the 17th as Colin wasn't going to be home yesterday.  He didn't get to see her until 10:00 pm when he came home and was able to give her a kiss on the cheek while she slept. We made our Wednesday coffee day into a little party for her  and she had such a good time there was no time to nap.  Oma with 'her birthday girl' A rare photo of me with 'my birthday girl' She loved blowing out candles!  I think we lit it and turned off the lights about eight times, literally.  More to come on Saturday when Aunt Lynne and Uncle Jim come to celebrate with us if she can hold out for 'bue buttefly' cake a bit longer. Happy Birth...

It's been too long since my last post but by now I'm sure everybody who reads this blog has caught on that I'm just not as diligent in posting as I have been in the past. There have been a number of 'YAY' moments since December: 1. Isla is fully toilet trained; 2. Colin has a full time job; and 3. He has "officially" become a Permanent Resident (PR) as he now has his PR card! Isla ~~ Well, what can I say about the madam.  She's the boss lady of the house  ;-) She'll be 3 next week!  Yes, THREE years old.  Where has my baby gone?  She is now fully toilet trained although we still have the odd accident but they are few and far between.  She usually goes on her own but I like to 'assist' her just so I know she's fully cleaned up, if you know what I mean.  Also, if she gets a bit preoccupied with what she is doing, I may need to remind her but overall she's done excellent.  Thanks to Oma!  Even at night time, no prob...

Merry Christmas to our friends and family!  I apologize for the lack of Christmas cards this year but we wish  you all God's continued blessings this season and in 2011. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I suppose most of our blog readers are probaby fed up looking at my African Violet but you'll be glad to know it is still blooming and lovely.  More importantly, Colin is home!  YAY!  After almost 3 months away, he came home on December 3rd and managed to avoid any Heathrow airport disasters or delays. Almost as soon as he was home, he also had a job interview and since then a second interview for the same position.  He felt the interviews went well and we both hope and pray (and ask you to do the same) that this position will be offered to him and he will be able to stay home with us in January.  In the perfect world he would've had the offer before Christmas but no word as of yet.  We remain optimistic he will hear before the end of the week. While he's...

.... but thought I would show off my African Violet.  Isn't it pretty?  I can't believe how many blooms it has! Not too shabby for a plant I bought 5 months ago as a $3.99 grocery store special, eh?

... we had immigration news! Colin recieved the FBI Certificate (clear, no record, phew) which was promptly forwarded to Immigration Canada by the not-so-prompt Canada Post...  Next step, Permanent Residence. The next day he received the Work Permit!  ..... we went to the Rockton World's Fair ! I get a kick out of that name.  If you blinked you'd be through Rockton...  Hardly known to the world... But anyways, it was fun.   It's been years since I was last there and it hasn't changed a bit.  Everything is in the same place. The giant pumpkin contest is neat to see... I think this one was over 700lbs... (the pumpkin, not Isla) Even though we live on a horse farm, she LOVED the sheep, especially BLACK sheep ;-) .... Isla turned 32 months on Sunday.  Four more months and she's 3! For the record (unofficially) she's 29.8 lbs and 36.5 inches tall.  Petite, funny, sweet, active and oh so beautiful! We were at the park th...