Thank You

This week I completed writing all of my thank you cards for the gifts we received from baby showers and when we first brought Luke home.  I probably should have completed them sooner then now but hey, I am a new mom and snuggling with my little guy was higher on the priority list.

We received so much love from our family and friends, it was really nice to personalize our gratitude in each thank you card.

Can I tell you, don't under estimate the power of a positive comment.  After becoming a mom, I think I probably could have said some better things to the moms that came before me, those moms new just what to say to make me feel good.  My favourite comment of all was "your doing a great job", its so simple but it meant so much.  Just thinking of this makes my eyes well up a little because you know what, at first, I wasn't sure if I was doing a great job.  Having one of my awesome mom friends tell me I was doing a good job, gave me the boost of confidence I needed to push through the day.

To sum this little rant up, pump up the people around you with love and positivity because I guarantee you, it will go a long way!

"Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world." - Unknown

Gratitude Monday - A New Roof

So this weekend was a great one, we got a new roof!  Tyler worked hard with his amazing brothers and friends through the weekend to re do our house and garage roof.  I love the town we live in, I love our little community of family and friends and I love my hard working husband.

Today I am grateful for the new roof to keep us warm and dry all winter and the hard work from our loving friends and family that went into it.

Happy Monday folks, I hope you have a great week!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I know some people think it's too early to begin celebrating Christmas but when there are so many fun things to do and enjoy in the holiday season, you have to start early.  Here is a list of things I want to enjoy over the Christmas season.

Watch my favourite Christmas movies

Christmas Vacation 

The Family Stone 

Home Alone 

Elf

How The Grinch Stole Christmas 

Hand write Christmas cards 
I love writing the cards with personalized notes and sending them off fills me with holiday cheer.  Receiving Christmas cards in the mail makes my day and I love to do something decorative each year to display the cards I have received, its old school but sometimes you just need a little old school in your life. 

Make my Christmas gifts

This is a new one for me this year and I don't plan on making all of my Christmas gifts but I have ideas for a few.  My goal with this tradition is to focus less on gifts and more on the true meaning of Christmas and giving in general. 

Go for a walk through The Celebration Of Lights
A holiday tradition we are lucky to have here in Lambton County to help us Sarnian's get in the Christmas spirit. 

Spend a day in Bothwell at Sloan's Christmas Tree Village
Tyler and I started this tradition two years ago with our niece Marley and now I am excited to share it with Luke too! Insert the carolling of "Oh Christmas Tree" here.

Bake some delicious holiday treats 
I love to bake so that I can obviously eat the delicious baked goods but I also love to share them with friends and family. 

Attend a few holiday parties 
Holiday parties are the best!  House parties are warm and cozy and events at halls and restaurants always have a little extra glitz and glam this time of year.  I also love the opportunity to sport my sequin clothing and sparkly makeup. 

Give back to the community
This year I have been feeling a desire to donate baby essentials to our local food bank The Inn Of The Good Shepherd .  Having my own child and my own difficulties breast feeding, has made me consider the needs of young families less fortunate than us.  Our focus for giving this year will be on young families.

So, you can see with everything I would like to accomplish to celebrate Christmas, it is essential that I begin in November, Christmas deserves at least two months of celebration!

Merry Christmas! 

I Will Remember

This morning I read "Young Sons" by Bill Mitton.  It was shared by someone I follow on Instagram  and its the first time I have read this poem.  I read it and the reality of this new angle and understanding of the loss that comes from war washed over me.

 YOUNG SONS
A mother takes down a photo
And she holds it to her breast
Just has she’d done the child it shows
The little boy she’d washed and dressed.
She remembers how his hair felt
His soft scent still fills her nose.
And one again she curses, 
the path her young son chose.
With boyish smile, and happiness
he’d picked the shilling and the gun
she remembered still the fear and dread
when he told her what he’d done.
Yet she’d smiled and waved him off
as only a loving mother could
If God was good, her smiling son
would return as young son’s should.
but then fickle fate, it knows no God
it makes it’s judgments where it will
and IED’s they don’t discriminate
about who they should maim or kill.
So young son’s often come home
fulfilling all their mothers fears
not with happy smiles and laughter
But, draped in flags and mother’s tears. 

Bill Mitton

When I was a child and they talked about war in school, I wondered what it would be like to have my father go off to war.  As a married women I wondered what it would be like to have my husband fight in wars and now as a mother, with these words in my head, I wonder about the pain a mother would feel to have to send her young son off to war.  Luckily I have never had to experience any of these pains.

Today Luke and I went for a swim at the Petrolia pool and then for a walk through pretty downtown Petrolia.  We stopped at the war memorial for a moment of silence and to show our respect for those who have fought for our freedom.  I read all the names of the soldiers on the memorial, something I have not done before, and I thought about all the people in their lives that were effected by their loss.

I am so grateful, more than ever today, for the great sacrifices of those who fought and fight to protect our country so we can live free.  I am proud to be Canadian and glad to live and raise a family where I do.  I could list all of the things that I am grateful for but my son is starting to wake from his nap.

Thank you to our soldiers and their families!

Lest we forget.

Love,
Audrey 

My Husband Is Awesome

You always hear so much about what a woman goes through during pregnancy as she prepares to become a mother.  (Maybe I just don't hear much of the mans perspective because all my close friends are women.) During my pregnancy I started to consider what Tyler was going through.  His life had not changed as much as mine had yet but I wondered if it would be an even larger adjustment for him because I had nine months of a changing body and lifestyle, to adjust to what parenthood might be like, but for him it would be sudden.

During pregnancy he got our home ready for our baby, supported his emotionally unstable and hormonal wife, stayed focused at work and still managed to make jokes to make me laugh when I wasn't feeling like myself.  We talked about our excitements and fears of becoming parents but he really was my rock through this entire phase.  (Don't misunderstand, there were moments of tension and fighting too.)

I am grateful for my husband, his work ethics and for the way he balances me out - he is more "go with the flow" and I am more "everything needs to be scheduled".  Our differences are what makes us work and what makes us not always agree on everything.  At the end of the day I feel safe knowing we are tackling this whole new chapter of life as parents together.

As an additional note, I wanted to share these thoughts because I thought Tyler deserved some praise.  Our relationship is not perfect but when we do get under each others skin my ability to focus on his great parts and reminding myself that I am not perfect, allows me to navigate situations with a calmer head. 

Today is Ty's birthday, Happy Birthday to my amazing guy! 

Luke - 2 Months Old

Luke, your dad and I are enjoying watching you grow, you are a happy baby and a pleasure to be around.  Your second month has been packed with lots of fun activities and milestones.  This month we went on a few road trips and you celebrated two of your first holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween.  Everywhere we go you are getting tons of love from your family members, you love to snuggle and are laid back with everyone.

One very exciting milestone that you hit this week was beginning to sleep through the night.  You have been a pretty good sleeper from the beginning but we are so grateful that you have started to sleep for 8 hours or more, at a time.  As I mentioned, you are a very snuggly baby and your dad and I agree that when you fall asleep on us, it is the best feeling ever!

You have started to have some pretty big smiles this month too, probably because your sleeping so well ;) and maybe even a few little laughs.  The word "moo" is a sure way to make you smile. 

You like music and when I sing to you, and your also reacting more to your toys.  It's been a good month!  As we get into November I am excited to start sharing Christmas traditions with you and create new ones too! 

Please stay as sweet as you are today, forever!

xoxo Mom