Each day there are little things that make me wish I could freeze time ~ that I could somehow etch certain moments in my mind as to ensure that they might never fade from my memory. Specifically I'm enamored with how my children show me love. While moments like these may be even more amazing as the years go by, I never want to forget the way their affection makes me feel right here, right now.

At 2 1/2 years old, Addison is quite vocal about her feelings. She'll be sitting restfully in my lap then will spontaneously turn towards me to say with conviction and sincerity, "Mom, I LOVE you." Then looking at me with those big brown eyes she likes to cup my face between her little toddler hands right before giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. It's the sweetest thing.

Other times I'll see Addison hugging on JD and Ayden and announcing, "I love my boys!" It makes me want to run over and scoop her up! One of her favorite lines is, "I love you EVERYDAY!"

Ayden has his own unique way of giving hugs. First he'll throw his arms around my neck. Then he'll lay his head on my shoulder. After a short bit he'll move both his arms to his sides and wiggle his little body against mine. Once he stops his wiggle dance, I give him a good squeeze. I love our little routine!

These types of moments are even more special as I realize daily that my squirts are growing up so FAST! We'll celebrate Ayden's first birthday in less than a month! My how time flies. Oh how I wish I could freeze it...if only for a moment.

I'm clearly a bit behind on blogging. Not that there is a quota to keep up with or anything, but we do typically post more often than we have lately. It's been a busy few weeks for us. We've all been dealing with colds and both of the kids had a short lived virus that included fever and crankiness. Seems like everyone is up to par once again though.

Addison recently decided she was ready to be done with diapers so we gave potty training a go. She caught on quickly, and the first 3 days went smoothly. Then the fever arrived, and we had about four days of battle. Thankfully she snapped out of her funk soon enough and decided she was ready once again. She hasn't had an accident for a full week and rarely needs to be reminded to go. Yippee! It's great to have that behind us.

Now we are looking forward to May Long Weekend and Jim's parents upcoming visit. Then Josh, Missy & Mandy will be home from school for a few weeks and our string of weddings will begin. So there are definitely some fun days ahead!

Addie has been asked to be a flower girl in two weddings this year. She is quite excited and often talks about the "fancy dresses" the will get to wear. Hopefully we can get her down the aisle. If nothing else, she will be entertaining ~ that's our Addie!

The past few weeks have FINALLY provided us some opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. We've taken the munchkins to the park, spent some time in the mountains, and are once again enjoying hanging out on the deck. Yesterday we spent most of the day outside and even wore short sleeves. Woo hoo for warmer weather!

The rest of the week doesn't look that impressive, but we've finally experienced some tangible evidence that winter isn't here to stay so we'll try to be patient. One thing is for sure, Alberta summers are worth the wait

This was Ayden's first adventure on a swing and he LOVED it! He was literally giggling the whole time. If only we had gotten it on video. Check out that tongue!

You could say Addie's a little "positively charged" in this pic.

Collecting rocks.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Stuart Townend

Ayden is 9 months old today!! He's a funny little guy, and we're anxious to see even more of his playful personality in the months to come. He has a stubborn side too, but don't we all.

Today is also the day Ayden said his first word ~ Da da! I bet his proud daddy will post the video of it soon.

After weeks of scooting around backward, my munchkin is finally crawling forward...albeit slowly. Before too long he'll be everywhere and into everything. Last month he started clapping, and every once in a while we can coax a wave out of him.

Let's see...things I want to make sure I remember...the little dude is super ticklish. Different tickle spots trigger different types of laughs. Aren't baby giggles fantastic? I adore his tiny toes. I'll be sad to see them grow into little boy feetsies. He's a people watcher. He listens closely as you speak and studies your face intently.

He loves it when Addie slows down long enough to sit and play with him. I'm pretty sure once he's rocking and rolling with the crawling he'll be on her heels every chance he gets. They are looking more and more alike ~ those two make a great pair!

While I was in Houston a few weeks ago for some training and meetings, I met up with my brother Joe. He is working for Cavalcade Custom Homes in Austin. Following Hurricane Ike last September, Cavalcade decided to start an extension office down in Nassau Bay to start helping the effected families begin rebuilding their homes. Joe explained to me how many of the insurance adjusters that are working this disaster are not quite taking care of the job like they should. Enter Cavalcade. Joe provides a free service to these devastated families by preforming a third-party assessment report for the value of the damages. This has been huge for the folks down there because Joe has been able to help them work with the insurance companies to get the money they need to completely rebuild their homes. Of course the idea is that Cavalcade gets to take part in replacing their ruins with a deluxe custom home! I drove down to meet Joe and he walked me through some of the damage:

Boats were strung out like this even six months later.

You can see how far the floods rose in this house.

Again see the flood line on the windows.

Joe explaining how the water completely damaged the house to the point that demolition was the only option.

This pic totally speaks for itself and it doesn't surprise me at all that people respond this way to my bro! He is one-of-a-kind!

Have you heard of How Fast They Grow and their Digi-Scrapbook? You drag and drop your photos, add text, then place your order. A week or two later these fabulous 12x12 magazine-quality pages arrive at your doorstep. I started making Ayden's scrapbook last fall after I found Hostess With the Mostess' (HWTM) templates that she created for How Fast They Grow. I adore her modern & colorful designs!

I've since seen a few of my pages on How Fast They Grow's website (after they asked permission of course). Then today my friend Suzanne G. emailed and told me to go check out HWTM's blog. So I pulled it up and what do you know ~ there was my little AJ at the top and bottom of the post! She is giving away a $150 gift certificate to How Fast They Grow. Go throw you name in the pile. I did!

I love to read, but I find I don't retain details all that well unless I take notes, teach the content, or make some sort of outline. Recently I've been using XMind to record the key points of a few books I'm working through. I know it sounds dorky but my highly organized, dorky self just LOVES mind maps. I told Jim what I was wanting to do, and he hooked me up with a free solution.

To illustrate what you can do with it, I put together a quick example detailing some of the things I want to do once it warms up. Right now I have summer on the brain. I really have spring fever! Of course, we are definitely not having "spring" up here. Yes, we've just had a few nice days above freezing...and yes, I currently have a small lake out in front of my house where my car is parked...which means yes, the mud boots need to be pulled out of hiding and dusted off. But I'm pretty sure Old Man Winter is only taking a short nap. He's not done with us just yet. Boo!

But, I've digressed. Back to my point. Check out XMind if you're like me and this sort of thing gets you all excited and ready to do the splits. Just kidding!! I haven't even considered doing the spits since like 3rd grade. These days I'm lucky if I can sit Indian style ~ Ha!

It's hard to believe Addie will be 2 1/2 next month! This is such a fun age. Here are a few funny things that she's come up with lately...

• I pointed out a rather large dog that was sitting alone in the car parked next to us at the grocery store. "Look Addie! Check out that dog." She made a bewildered face and said, "Mom, dogs can't drive!??"
• While drinking water like crazy after taking a spicy bite at supper, she exclaimed, "My mouth is sooooo...(silence while she searches for a good word)...grouchy!"
• After our friends Sarah and Mitch left our house last night Addie reminded me that they came over TOday and then asked if they could come over TOmorrow. I told her I didn't think she'd get to see them TOmorrow to which she replied, "Okay, maybe I can see them TO-later. Ha ha!
• Here's a conversation we had tonight. She was still finishing up her supper, and I was washing the dishes.
A: Mom, can you bring me a ladder please?
Me: Why would you need a ladder Addie?
A: (Leaning over her booster seat and pointing to the ground) Jenny wants to try my soup and I can't reach her. She needs a ladder to get up here. (Remember Jenny, her imaginary friend from a few posts ago?)
Me: Um...giggle, giggle...okay, luckily I happen to have one right here. (Then I went and propped a pretend ladder up against the table.)
A: Come on up Jenny!

For the record, Jenny comes and goes at random times and generally doesn't stick around for very long. She definitely keeps things lively around here!

Ayden @ 8 Months

Addie @ 8 Months