home again, home again jiggedy jig.

we're heading back home to texas in 5 days.

boxes are packed and sealed up. 

furniture is gone, and walls are empty.

we are more than ecstatic to be going back home to our family and friends!

but it just doesn't seem real.

i don't think it will set in until we get back home and our things are put away.

not until we cook dinner together or have company over will it really set in that we are back home, for good.

even though the winter was brutal and colder than we could've ever imagined.

even though the past few months have been hard and texas is where we want to be, there are things about this place and this past year that we'll never forget.

i loved being in a new place and meeting new people along the way.

i loved waking up every morning to snow falling and drinking my coffee as I soak it all in.

i loved watching chester frolic in the snow.

i loved having a white christmas and seeing "christmas trees" covered in snow.

i'll never forget the people i've met who have done so much to make us feel welcome here.

or the mall where we spend many winter days.

i'll never forget our anniversary at jasper national park and the beautiful things we saw there.

or elk island national park where we had many weekend picnics and spent a lot of time hiking.

i'll always remember kyle shoveling the driveway and cursing at the snow that was currently falling from the sky onto the half shoveled driveway. :)

and how happy he was to see the last of the snow melt and knew his shoveling days were over.

i'll always be grateful for how this adventure has brought my hubby and i closer than we ever imagined.

i'm grateful to have had my precious dog with me and don't know how i would have survived without him.

i'm grateful for skype and free calls to the u.s., moving here was hard and not talking to family and friends ALL the time would have made it so much harder.

there are things that have happened in this past year that have definitely changed my life.

i lost my cousin, brittani, who is more like a sister to me, she's made such a huge impact on my life.  even though i wasn't there to say goodbye, i did get to go home to celebrate her life. it comforts me to know that she's joined her sister in heaven and i now have them both watching over me. my two precious angels. 
we also found out we were pregnant here.  such a special moment, and even though it was weeks before we told anyone, i loved that we were giddy and couldn't talk about anything else with each other since we couldn't tell anyone else.  i will always remember my husband's reaction to seeing the word *pregnant* on the home pregnancy test.  our lives were forever changed in one instant. :)

i'm excited for the future and what the next chapter of our lives has to bring.
i'm ready to get back to texas.

i'm excited about teaching and being in the classroom with kiddos again.
i'm thrilled to be close to friends and family again and look forward to A LOT of time with them. spontaneous pedicures or shopping trips are things i have missed dearly.

i can't wait to find out what our precious little one is,

and i CAN'T WAIT to become a momma and watch kyle become a daddy.

but this past year in canada has been a blessing.

an adventure i will always treasure,

and one i'll never forget.

12 weeks.

i'm 12 weeks. close to being through the first trimester...and that just means we're closer to finding out what our little love is!

so far this pregnancy has treated me very well, i feel great and am thankful for that!

we are heading back to texas in one week and 4 days and i cannot wait! here's a little info on me and this little one in my belly!

How far along? 12 weeks 1 day

Total weight gain/loss: gained 3 pounds

Maternity clothes? nope, not yet, but my jeans no longer button comfortably, i'll be getting belly bands very soon! : )

Stretch marks? no, it's too early for that but i'm being extra cautious and already using tummy butter every night! : )

Sleep: sleeping very well except for waking up in the middle of the night many times to take trips to the restroom! it's a lot less frequent than it was a month ago though!

Best moment this week: feeling like i'm showing

Movement: too early still

Food cravings: salsa, brownies and cheese!

Gender: we'll find out in september!

Labor Signs: no way!

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

What I miss: wine, deli meat, tuna and frozen margaritas!

What I am looking forward to: finding out if it's a boy or girl and being able to feel him or her!

Milestones: not really any yet...according to what to expect when you're expecting, the little one can open and close it's hands! : )

the greatest gift.

we are expecting!
our little one is expected to arrive january 27, 2012.
kyle and i have always talked about becoming parents, but we were just waiting for the right time and wanted some time just the two of us for a while. so after 2 and a half years of marraige, in april, we decided that we were ready to add to our little family. so we stopped preventing it in the hopes that within the next 6 months or so, we'd get pregnant.  little did we know it would happen a lot sooner than that. : ) about two and a half weeks later i told kyle that i was pregnant(i just knew i was, i can't explain it!).  he thought i was crazy of course.  a few days later i had a line down the middle of my belly. (i know what you're thinking...wha?! already??...i thought the same thing!) i showed the hubbs and told him see...i told you i'm pregnant! he still wasn't buying it. so about a week later i bought a few pregnancy tests and planned to take one the next morning. i woke up so excited and the few minutes it takes for the test seemed like forever!  i went and looked at the stick and there was a faint little pink line.  i showed kyle and of course he said, "it's not very dark." i tried explaining to him that a line is a line and it was probably too early that's why it was so faint.  so a few days later i took another and the line was a little darker...and then to ease my husband's doubts bought a digital test and showed him the next morning the words "pregnant" and then he really believed it was true....we were having a baby!  we laughed, we cried, we were thrilled! we couldn't believe it happened so fast and just weeks ago we were dreaming about the wonderfulness of parenthood... and now we were expecting! we had plans to go back to texas a few weeks later and we didn't want to tell anyone over the phone. so a reallly really  LONG 3 weeks later we finally went home.  i went to my first doctor appointment and had an ultrasound.  everything looked great so of course we couldn't wait to tell our families and friends.  everyone was surprised and so excited for the new addition!

we are now back in canada and will be driving back home to texas in a few weeks. we cannot wait!
i got a job teaching second grade at a new school that's opening and we couldn't be more excited to be going back to texas AND becoming parents in a little over 6 months!

we can't wait to find out if we'll be bringing a sweet little boy or girl into this world! (i have a feeling it's a girl, but who knows!) as long as it's healthy we don't care at all!

just wanted to share the news....when we get back to texas i'll put my ultrasound pictures on here(I left them there) and by then maybe a belly pic or two. : )

joy of love: passions & hobbies

day 9: passion & hobbies

day 9: hobby {february 9}

{chester loves to play with his most recently purchased toy, earl the chick magnet.}

meet earl.

"what are you lookin' at?"

joy of love: day 8

day 8: who they love

day 8: who they love {february 8}

{chester LOVES kyle...he waits for him to get home from work, sitting and looking out of the window EVERDAY}

*patiently waiting for Kyle to get home*

joy of love: day 4

Day 4: Love to hate

day 4{february 5}

love to hate...

It drives me crazy when Chester licks me! He's such a licker too so it's a constant battle, I know he's being sweet, but ick!



the joy of love: day 3

Day 3 {February 3} Then & Now

Then...shortly after we got him Oct. 2008...such a cute lil pup!

Now...2 and a half years old...still so cute! : )



joy of love: day 2

day 2: {february 2}

how he looks.

{SOOO cute just laying on his bed}

the joy of love.

I was reading a friend's blog and stumbled across a free photography class that last's the month of February and thought I'd do it! It's put on by Willette Photography.  I'm no photographer but thought this would be a fun class and maybe I'll learn a thing or two.  : )

Here are the “requirements” of the class…
suggested class materials:

• someone(s) you love
• a camera
• a desire to stretch your photographic skills

what you can expect from this willette JOY class:

• a daily email during the month of february
• the email will contain a photo idea and occasional tips
• a public flickr gallery to share photos
• an album template download at the end for all of your photos you take during the class
• a journey to help you document your loved one(s) – whether it is a spouse, partner, child, pet, parent or friend.

I decided to capture Chester. Why, you ask? Well...
1. He's so darn cute.
2. He's home with me and we have lots of time for photo ops.
3. He's just so darn cute!

day 1. {february 1} what he does.

[he lays around. and sleeps. All the live long day.]



Ukranian New Years.

We spent last Friday night over at Crystal & Blair's celebrating Ukranian New Years!!  Crystal must have spent the whole day cooking because Oh. My. Goodness...there were so many yummy dishes! She made a turkey, ham, dressing, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, corn, perogys(a staple here in Canada...it's a dumpling filled with potatoes) and some other Ukranian dishes that were soo good! I've decided I'm going to have to have her teach me how to make these recipes because I think even our Texas friends and family back home would LOVE them!



We had a lot of fun as always! Crystal & Blair thought Kyle and I needed this new book on How to be a Canadian! : )

Little do they know, we are ready to get back to good ole' Texas, U.S. of A. as fast as we can!



home for the holidays.

to say that the hubby and i were beyond excited to go home for christmas is an understatement...we could barely contain ourselves! we were so ready to see our family and friends and spend some time at HOME. we were taken by surprise at how much we'd missed just that...our house, our home. so much that we didn't want to come back. we loved being able to do what we used to back in texas... spending time outside! we spent a lot of time with our family and friends OUTSIDE. thank you warm texas winter! thanks to you we spent time grilling, sitting by the firepit, playing games and just being in the great outdoors! we miss that A LOT. we loved being back in our house(the house that feels like home) and talking about all of the projects that we wanted to do as soon as we get back there...and how we can't wait to fill that house with a few little ones! we LOVED seeing our families and friends. we miss them SO MUCH being way up here. we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we wanted and there were a few people we didn't even get to see : ( BUT we enjoyed all the time that we had and can hardly wait until we visit again!


one thing that upset me though once i got home was...i realized i hardly took ANY pictures!! my wonderful husband even got me an canon t2i for christmas and i still didn't take many at all! i guess i was so excited/happy/overwhelmed by getting to see everyone that i love so dearly that i completely forgot to take pictures of what we did with them. oh well. i promise i won't forget next time!


christmas is my favorite time of year and i am so happy we got to go home and spend it with our families. i hope and pray that next year we'll be back home for good at christmas but i have a feeling that probably won't happen. who knows...or maybe next year we'll stay here for a white christmas and invite everyone up here! : )

we spent christmas morning at kyle's parents house and opened presents with them. then we had lunch and played video games.

(notice how white we are. well kyle ia always white but i've never been this pastey, i need some texas sun ASAP!)

then we went to my parents house to open presents with them and have dinner there.

my mawmaw & her dog "precious".

my childhood dog "peppe". isn't she so cute! she can definitely pose for a picture! : )

my parents & "peppe". they spoil her rotten. : )

my aunt shay & uncle gene got two precious border collie puppies(max & bandit) for christmas. they're brothers, aren't they adorable?!?

we can't wait to go back to texas which will hopefully be this summer! the project kyle is here for should be very busy starting in about april so we're hoping we're still able to go home for a visit and the project doesn't require him to be here. either way...i'll be going home! i need some sun....and a tan! : )