Cancun Here We Come!!!

So this is VERY last minute... About a week after Christmas my husband gets on the band wagon to go some place warm...

Well here is is "The Royal In Canun" It will be just the two of us, seven wonderful days of sleeping in... relaxing on the beach... and listening to the waves!!!! This trip has come on so suddenly, I don't think it has totally sunk in yet.

We leave THIS Monday!!!!

Finally A New Post!!!!

Larkyn wearing her new hat from Aunt Debbie

My husband comes home the other day with THIS??? First I get the Wii fit for Christmas now he brings this home, am I missing something???? It's true that in this last year I have put on a few pounds (15lb to be exact) Do you think this is a hint????
Actually it's for my husband as well.. We are both going to try and get more exercise. Speaking about exercise let's talk about the Wii Fit. The first time I took the fit test it said my Wii Fit age was 63!!!! It wasn't until my mother took it and came up 43 that I decided I needed to take it again. The second time was much better putting my Wii Fit age at 38... There are some good things about the Wii Fit... it's FUN and 30 minuets goes by in a blink of an eye. I am hoping between the Elliptical trainer and the Wii Fit I will get back into shape again.

WISH ME LUCK!!!!!

Ryker and his Lovely Sarah

Bullets

• Over the last few months I have steadily gotten worse at keeping up on my posting or checking up on other blogs... I hope to do better in the new year.
• Our weather man tell us that this is the most snow Calgary has had at Christmas time in over 50 years. I am loving every minute of the white stuff!!!
• With all this snow do you think I can get my kids to go outside and play in it? "NO" The wining as they go outside to get some fresh air is unbelievable
• When did mothers become the kids personal playmate??? When I was my kids age I happily played with all my new stuff at Christmas and barely saw my mom or dad except to eat meals.
• I took my 13 year old son to the movie theater today for his first DATE!!! I am soo not ready for this part of my son's life. I could tell by the look on the girls mother's face she was not ready for this as well... But we both gave the kids there rules and waved good-bye as they went off to a movie.
• We were given some Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate for a Christmas gift... and I think I have died and gone to heaven.
• Our kitchen is almost done, now I have to pick out the back splash and hood fan, then the cabinet guy can come back and finish all the crown moldings that still need to go up.

This is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ho Ho Ho

Well after waiting 356 days Christmas Eve was finally here. We spent the evening at David's parents home... All of his brother's and sister's were there as well as the kids cousin's. Once we got home I allowed the kids to open two special present each... New Christmas PJ's!!!! Then I made them sit in front of the tree for a picture.

Reegan and Larkyn opening there stockings.

I've been bless with children who know that sleeping in on Christmas morning is a good thing!!! The kids finally got up around 8am so we were all well rested and ready to take on the tree.

All of David's family came to our house in the morning and we all opened our gifts together... There was a lot of chaos and tones of mess.. but fun was had by all. My dear sister joined on skype.

Ryker Man... Got his beloved Nerf Gun.. He was a very happy boy!!

More Present!!!!

Larkyn Aunt's Kate (who happens to be a lurker on my blog) gave Larkyn her favorite gift... Her very own bike. She would not get off it and when she did she would not take her helmet off. After she went to bed I was finally able to put her bike downstairs so that in the morning she could ride it down there. She's not to good at steering it yet and our walls were taking a beating.

David's mom and dad gave Larkyn this lovely Chinese outfit... I love the little shoes!!!

Larkyn and Mommy

Ryker and Mommy

Me and My Honey

I want so much to thank my sister in-law Tracey for a wonderful Christmas dinner. It really was great to be with the family over Christmas.

PS: before I forget... My dear brother in law made a very cheeky comment on Christmas Eve about people who blog need to get themselves a JOB!!!!! I think if he says something like that again I might have to give all you guys his email address and you can all send him a cheeky email. LOL

Here's a picture of my brother in-law... He looks happy now but watch out Mr. Anti Blogger!!!! Ha Ha Ha

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Laptop Blues But Finally I'm Back!!!

Well They finally fixed my beloved Laptop... but not without some casualties. It would appear that my computer was infected with some very bad viruses.. and yes I had ant virus on my laptop... We think that one of my little darlings might have allowed it in when they were using my computer.... Errrrr

I still don't have any sound which sucks.. but at least I can now check email, post on my blog etc.,

I was fortunate enough to have had an external hard drive for back ups so most was restored...
We have been busy getting ready for the Holiday Season... Larkyn has been enjoying her reindeer antlers

This past Saturday Reegan spent the afternoon with her grandmother... What a great time Reegan had... David's mom is just the best... They did crafts and decorated gingerbread cookies. The best was this amazing candy Christmas tree...

My son shocked me by cleaning his bedroom last weekend. I can't remember the last time I saw his bedroom floor... Actually there has been a few changes in his behaviour lately... He's taking a shower sometimes twice a day... He's brushing his teeth the correct way... His hair must be just right before he leaves the house... I have some theories but I think the best conclusion would be a GIRL !!! Yikes!!!!!

Just Check out this bedroom!!!

Sunday evening was decorating the family Christmas Tree... Larkyn was very into to it this year. When I think back to last Christmas Larkyn had only been with us for 4 months, I'm sure she was shelled shocked by Christmas and all the hustle and bustle... This year she as cute as can be listening to Christmas stories and saying Ho Ho Ho.

On the Kitchen front.. things have been going well... We didn't think our granite counter top would be in before Christmas, so when they called last Thursday and said they were coming on Friday to install our counter, we almost feel off our chairs... Then on Friday the Urban Barn called to tell us our stools were in, they weren't suppose to be here until the end of January... Some times things just work out... I guess Christmas really is a time for miracles. We don't have the stools yet but here's some pictures of the counter top.

I HAVE A SICK LAPTOP

Well it appears that my laptop is sick... it has some sort of virus and has been taken away to be fixed... I am having to use my son's laptop in the meantime to check email etc., I just can't seem to get into blogging on someone else laptop... It's a personal thing I guess!! It should be back by this Friday... So keep your fingers crossed...

Merry Christmas

The Home Stretch

Well we finally picked out our slab of granite for the island in the kitchen... In truth it was much easier then we had anticipated. You see David and I have very different ideas of what we wanted... He wanted dark.. I wanted light... We have enough dark in our house now that the though of seeing more dust just about sent me over the edge. David on the other had doesn't do the dusting so it truly didn't bother him. "MEN"

But in the end we found this beautiful piece of granite... it has just the right amount of dark to make David happy and it's not so dark it shows every speck of dust. Our island will use this entire piece so we both wanted something that would stand out...

We are keeping our fingers crossed that it's in by Christmas!!!!

Stephen Is Home !!!

November 24th, 2008

Dear Friends;

What a crazy month! The saying, “Stop the world, I want to get off!” has never seemed so real to me than this past month. I truly have wished that the world would just stop for one day so I could catch my breath. I guess in a way, my world stopped while I slept for 17 hours one day last week. I just crashed. Thankfully, we have friends and family that I can call in for reinforcements.

I have this love/hate relationship with time at this point. Time stresses me out because there isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things that need to be done and talk to all the people I need to talk to and still be organized and on top of what is going on or going to be going on. Yet, time is our friend since it is time that is needed to complete Steve’s healing. It also makes me feel better knowing that a brain injury takes from 2 to 5 years to heal and we are only 6 months into that time period. He isn’t the finished product yet.

We have almost worked out his schedule with most of the therapist coming to the house. He goes out for physiotherapy and also goes to the YMCA. He has a new support worker who we call his “hired friend” just for fun. He helps him with his rehab homework and helps him do tasks at home like changing light bulbs, etc. He will also take him wherever he wants to go. He just started last week so they are still getting to know each other. His presence takes a load off of me so I am thankful.

Steve is still continuing to make progress with his healing. I see him every day yet I still can hear his voice improving and his mobility getting smoother. He has even been shoveling snow! The eyesight still isn’t clear but it is slowly coming along.

He was very emotional for the first few days when he arrived home and it is no wonder. “It is what it is,” he would say. He was home but not as the same person who had left back in May. He was now out of the safety of the hospital, where it was all about him and he knew what was in store each day, and into the world of kids, phone calls, the dog barking at therapists coming to the door, and constant movement and unpredictability.

The King of Curveballs now doesn’t like surprises and needs to know what is going to happen next. He has to know who is arriving and what time and where we are going and what time we are leaving… and we have to stick with it. I suppose he has a greater sense of control if he is aware of these things. We are all adjusting and getting better at working it all out.

But I am not too concerned for Steve at this point. He is still working hard and time is on our side. It is more for my children. Now that the dust is starting to settle some things are starting to be revealed. Please pray for our children. Watching them deal with this is like a torture to me. Abigail seems to be doing well as she has Steve all to herself and has him wearing tiaras and having tea parties. William’s life has changed the most as his best friend was his dad. The greatest dad on earth is now a disabled man who wants to practice spelling words with him every minute. There is a great loss there and he is showing his grief in a few ways. I am worried for him and I cry as I type this. We are trying a few strategies to get him through it.

I am sorry that this letter has been so long coming. I would think about writing it as I would head to bed but would be just too tired to even start. I also apologize to those who I haven’t return phone calls or e-mails! If the world would just stop for a day then I just might catch up on them!

Don’t forget about us! We still need you to pray! Pray for our kids, pray for my stamina and, of course, pray for Steve’s healing. You have been so faithful… thank you!

In His Grace,
Donna Langman

Using the Potty

I am not a big believer in potty training... The truth is most parents who say that there wee ones are potty trained in truth are trained themselves. With both Ryker and Reegan I really didn't push them... I suggested the potty many times but it was really up to them and once they decided they wanted to do it was a done deal...
Well lately Miss Larkyn has been asking to use the potty, so far she usually goes in her diaper just before but at least she's making the connection.

Say What You May About Her... But She Still Makes Me Laugh

WAY To Go Ryker Man

This weekend Ryker's school had a wrestling tournament... In the past years Ryker really hasn't been all that keen on wrestling but he has tried it each year.. This year he's taken it on with gusto. Getting up twice a week for morning practices as well as attending two after school practices.

I am so proud of him... I actually started to cry when he won the second match and then when he walked up to get his medal... He looked so happy !!! I was beyond proud for him.

Your the best Ryker Man...

SPARKS

When I was this age we didn't even have Sparks... It was Brownies then girl guides etc., My mother tried to put me into Brownies, I think I lasted two meetings and then packed in my uniform and said enough of that!!! For me the best part of being in Brownies was eating the cookies you had to sell.

Then there's Reegan who has been bugging me since September to get her into to Sparks... After making the appropriate phone calls and filling in all the paperwork we got her in.

Did you guys know there's an entire store just for the Girl Guides??? I found out when I had to get her uniform. Did you also know that the Brownies uniform doesn't have any brown on it, it's orange and blue "What's With that????"

For me the most exciting part of this is that we now get first dibs on those COOKIES!!! No more waiting for them to come to our house ... Yum Yum...

Reegan School Picture 2008

Things have sure changed. I remember having to sit at a desk, hold a pencil and smile for the camera because you only got one shot. Now you get to choose the colour of your back ground (As you can see Reegan choose purple "Big Surprise there") You have three poses to choose from and you can also have them printed in back and white or sepia tone. They will even take out any blemishes if you are old enough to have any.. Common people !!! When my kids are at the awkward age they need to be able to look back and see that both there mother and father had pimples as well. NOT TOUCH UP'S ALLOWED!!!!

So here's the deal... I have been horrible at posting lately... I don't even have a good excuse, it's pure laziness on my part... Once all three kids are finally in bed all I want to do is to veg in front of the TV and then go to bed...

I would be on the couch right now but my husband beat me to it, so I decided to add a new post.

Just some random pictures of what's been happening around here.

Two very lazy bums!!!

Ryker after a day of quadding with his dad!!!

These boots are made for working!!

I am soooo embarrassed

For Halloween Reegan was Hannah Montana. Larkyn refused to put her costume on and much to Ryker's dismay we told him he was too old for trick or treating, so he was the official door person and every time someone showed up at the door who was clearing older then Ryker both David and I heard about it.

A Good Hull!!!

MADONNA!!!!!!!

Finally after almost six months of waiting the day had finally arrived. October 30, 2008 Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour.

I had great tickets... center, row 24, floor.

David and I decided that we would make this into an anniversary trip seeing as our 16th wedding anniversary was on October 31. But David didn't really care if he went to Madonna's concert (This still shocks me) So my friend Maya flew in from Calgary to accompany me.

We were dressed and ready to go. We decided to check out the stadium before we got to our seat and that is were I noticed that her stage was not at all were it said it would be when I ordered the tickets. Instead of her stage being right across the front she had a runway down the middle, from the end of the runway we would still have good seats at row 24, but when she was at the back we would not. After getting a few snacks we ventured down to the floor showed our tickets three times to security and were shown our seats...

OMG!!! Because of her stage and that runway down the middle our row 24 turned into row 4 directly in front of the runway where Madonna performed 80% of her show. I couldn't believe my luck... She was so close !!!

My blackberry doesn't take pictures and I assumed bringing a camera would be out of the question, so I took David's phone to take a few snaps... Much to my surprise people at the concert took camera's "Note to self BRING MY CAMERA next time" So all of my pictures turned out poorly.

Enjoy

Oh did I happen to mention her concert WAS AMAZING!!!!