"Daddy are you old?"

Zach has been on this kick lately about people getting old. He has been asking Darius and I and others if we're old yet. Regardless of D tacking on another year a few weeks ago, I still think he's pretty youthful for his age...but Zach may have a different opinion. ;)

I remember the first birthday I spent with Darius. He was living in Florida at the time, and I was still in NJ. I came down for a short visit, brought him a birthday cake, and went fishing with him. It wasn't exactly a fun-filled day. He wasn't in much of a celebratory mood. He barked orders at me in the boat while we fished, and I basically did my best to keep my movements and comments to the bare minimum. He wasn't even interested in having any birthday cake. Needless to say it wasn't the type of visit I had hoped to enjoy with him.

Regardless of his surly mood that day, he didn't scare me off and after some time passed he eventually warmed up to me. We've come a long way and made a great deal of progress since then. Darius will be the first to tell you that at that point in his life, he never envisioned a future with a wife and kids. I'm still grateful that he was able to open himself up to the possibility of a future together.

We started D's birthday with a delicious breakfast at the Park Cafe.

We had a great offer through the boys' school for a free showing of the Nutcracker at Capitol Theater.  I told D it was up to him if we went or not, and he was willing to give it a shot. Well after a big breakfast and a very toasty theater, it wasn't long before D fell asleep. We ended up leaving at intermission. :)

We learned our lesson last year and stayed away from fried chicken. D requested pizza, so we invited a few people over to help us eat it all and enjoyed a little birthday cake afterwards. 

This is the time of year that I'm reminded of how fortunate we are to have each other. Darius is an enormous blessing in my life, and I'm so grateful for how hard he works and the love he shows us. I'm especially grateful to his mother, Margaret, for her part in bringing him into this world and for the fine man she helped to raise.

I love you Darius...always more.

What are you grateful for?

On the days leading up to and following Thanksgiving, our daily photo challenge topic each day was something we are thankful for. After Thanksgiving I also came across a lovely tradition that I'd like to begin next year. It may be a little past Thanksgiving already, but there's no time like the present to actually get started.

For those of you that read this post and would like to join me, please feel free to leave a comment (or even send me a photo you would allow me to post) to express what you're thankful for.

My list is endless of the things I am grateful for, but I'd like to take the opportunity to elaborate on my family and share a little something about each of them that I love and appreciate.

Grandma Ruth - She is as sweet as they come, and I love that every time I leave her house I can always find her at the door or in the window waving to me as I pull away. The sight of her waving goodbye makes my heart swell.

Dad - I think Dad is almost as excited as I am that we finally have a garden to plant in the Spring. His green thumb is one of the things I'm so happy to have picked up from him. Before we left to come home Thanksgiving evening, he told me he had some flower bulbs for us on his workbench. I love and appreciate the little thoughtful things he does.

Mom - Her generous spirit is a blessing, and from her I have learned the tremendous satisfaction to be gained by doing for others. I think like her, I am truly happiest when I am able to help anyone in any capacity.

Michel - She pays it forward. She knows the struggles of being a SAHM, and she has shared some of her experiences and challenges with me. She knows how it feels to be need, and in return she has graciously given to my family when we've been in need ourselves.

Eric - I love his calm. He is gentle with his words and his children. I am louder and more abrasive. He's a quiet reminder to me that I don't need to raise my voice to get my point across.

Clair - He is courageous in the ways he is able to be vulnerable. I love his ability to let his guard down and share with others his struggles and triumphs. He has been sharing his personal affirmations for a year now on his blog Canffirmations. Although his affirmations are personal to him, I can often find ways to apply them to my own life.

Connie - I feel really loved when she gives me a hug. I think my family members all give great hugs, but Connie's radiate a warmth that is extra special. Maybe it's more noticeable to me considering we weren't always very kind to each other in our youth. I'm grateful that we can express our love for each other now.

Carrie - She is thoughtful and always remembers the little things. I like to think she has an excellent Rolodex in her head of important dates and events. Carrie will be the one that always remembers to call and send her best wishes for whatever the occasion may be.

Joy - Her strength and resilience inspire me. Her inner strength is much like a boxer. She takes her blows amazingly well and comes up swinging like Mickey O'Neil.

James - His fun-loving and easy-going nature is contagious. His humor and relaxed attitude is refreshing to be around.

Darius - He is such a hardworking man, and as hard as he works, he's so pleasant to be around when I am fortunate to have time with him. Regardless of his schedule or how tired he may be, he helps me around the house and acknowledges the work I do with the boys at home.

Ben - I love his willingness to help me around the house and his independent spirit. It sometimes breaks my heart just a little when he refuses my help, but at the same time I love that he wants to do things for himself and the satisfaction it brings to him.

Zach - He is social and will talk to anyone about anything. I love that he pulls me into his conversations with others that I probably would not talk with otherwise. He's a great reminder that there's no reason we can't connect with the people we come across each day.

And to each of you....the rest of my family and friends, there are so many wonderful qualities about each of you that I love and admire. I'm truly grateful for each of you and the strength and inspiration I am able to take away from all of you. Part of the reason I am me is due to the positive influences of the amazing people I am surrounded by. I hope to be more mindful of each of you and to take the opportunity to express my gratitude more often.

Much love to each of you.

The Canfield's 1st Annual Pie Night!!!

PIE!

Miss Hope's grin and enthusiasm for pie is awesome!

We all know already about my family's great love for pie. I think it's up there at the top of the list as far as things I would say to someone when describing my family. How it has escaped any of us to actually set aside a day to celebrate the deliciousness of pie is beyond me.

I can't take credit for coming up with the idea of Pie Night, but I'm fine with admitting that I totally scammed it off of someone else who encouraged me to do so. Maybe it's already caught on and we'll soon see it become an unofficial holiday. :)

Mom & Dad returned home from their mission at the perfect time, right before the holidays. It's good to have them back

Aunt Elaine and her husband Paul joined us, and it was wonderful to have them with us. 

Miss Jaydaka has a little brother coming soon. James and Brooke are expecting a boy in the Spring.

Cousin April was in from Colorado with her kids and joined us. It was so great to see her and catch up with her. We rarely see our Canfield cousins anymore, and it was such a treat to have her there!

Naturally Pie Night makes sense to pair up with Thanksgiving, so the night before we all got together at the Strate/Canfield residence and feasted on a smorgasbord of pie. I got a little carried away and brought 10, and there was well over that amount when we arrived. Needless to say it was an instant hit, and I think we have a new family tradition! 

Archer is the ultimate mama's boy. He can hardly stand for anyone else to hold him, but Eric seems to have the secret here. I'll have to try this the next time I get my hands on Archer. :)

Chris and Analyse came down from Idaho for the long weekend, and Chris introduced many of us to a new (and very addicting) game, which I can't remember the name of. Maybe that's a good thing!

 

No family gathering is ever complete unless there are multiple games of Pinochle.

Clair and Eric have been entertaining our family for years now with their own rendition of Adam Sandler's Turkey Song. This year Clair tweaked it in honor of our first Pie Night. Awesome as always!

"What are you doing Wednesday?"

We see Joy a lot more often now that we live much closer to each other. It's nice that she drops in a lot. She called me up on a Monday morning a couple weeks back and asked me what I had going on on Wednesday. Aside from babysitting the girls that night and school with the boys in the morning, I told her I was free. She then asked if I'd like to be a witness when she and JT got married Wednesday morning.

I find that I often laugh at inappropriate times. I think it's a nervous habit I exhibit when I'm at a loss for actual words. That's what I did when Joy told me her news. I laughed. After our conversation ended and I had an opportunity to digest the news, I called her back to apologize, and I think I was able to find the congratulatory response that would have been more appropriate during our first conversation.

I wasn't surprised that Joy and JT were getting married, I think it was just a shock to hear it was two days away. I guess I had always figured I would have more notice. Carrie called me later on, and we put our heads together to try and piece together the makings of a more memorable day for them. Carrie happened to have a perfect dress for Joy to wear, we were able to get flowers to make a bouquet for her, and with less than an hour to spare before stores closed the night before, Joy and I hit the mall hard to find shoes and stockings for her to wear with the dress.

Short notice and all, I was honored to be with my sister and witness her marriage. I think Carrie and I were probably feeling the same emotions, especially since we both got married without each other there. It was a big deal that we could be there with Joy.

I love Joy fiercely, and I'm so happy for her. I hope that Joy and JT's marriage is one full of wonderful shared experiences that they'll look back on each year with great memories. Love you both!

Friends

Sometimes reality has a way of slapping you in the face when you look at something as simple as a photo of your kids. :) I was going back through photos of the last couple of months, and when I saw Ben and Zach with Jonas it just hit me how special those photos are.

I remember when Brandi and I reconnected after losing touch for a number of years. It was 2007 and Bea was pregnant with Jonas, and I was soon to be pregnant a few months later. I was living in Florida and she was here in Utah. We kept in touch over email over the next few years, and we were lucky to be able to meet up a few times before we moved here last year. Our friendship just seemed to go dormant during the time we lost touch. Once we resumed it was easy, and although a lot of time had passed, it didn't feel like it had.

It feels really special that we live close to each other again after all these years, and that we happen to have boys the same age. I know in time we may find ourselves living far away from each other again, but for now I'm thoroughly enjoying each time we're able to get together.

I think so very highly of my sweet friend, and I'll spare most of the mushy sentiments only because she already knows how I feel about her. She is not only a very thoughtful and kind friend but a truly beautiful human being. I consider myself lucky to have her friendship.

October This & That

The first couple weeks of October kept us all busy. We had several weeks left in our apartment, but decided to move into the house right away and get settled. It was an easy move, and we quickly unpacked and got ourselves organized. We had beautiful weather and took advantage of the warm days to pull up the remnants of the garden left by the last tenants, and get it ready to be planted in the Spring. 

The middle of the month is a blur. I'm certain there was plenty going on to keep us busy. Towards the end of the month I enjoyed a lovely birthday with lots of my favorite people. Darius and the boys took me out to breakfast at the Park Cafe. It was our first visit there, and we all loved it. Afterwards we hit a few thrift/antique stores, and I found an awesome coat tree and a few other knick knacks. My dear friend Brandi came over for a visit with her son Jonas, and then my sister Carrie organized an aerial yoga party for me. Joining us were Kylee, Joy, Connie, Clair and Michel. I wasn't too sure about what we would be doing, but it turned out to be so much fun! I'm all about doing it again. It was a great day...just wish I had taken photos!

Halloween wrapped up the month, and I was happy to get that holiday out of the way. The boys got a little crazy leading up to it, and I was happy to be done with all their pre Halloween sass. Carrie brought the most adorable little dino over for a quick visit, and then we Trick-or-Treated in Joy's neighborhood which turned out to be great, nice and laid back. 

Kindergarten

Earlier this year when D and I attended Kindergarten Orientation at the school the boys were going to attend, I realized that the boys were not where I felt they should be in order to start. I went back and forth trying to make a decision whether to put them in, or start them a year later. During this period of indecisiveness, I came across an option that I thought was a good fit for the boys' needs and we went with it.

Here we are over three months into it, and I can't say it's been a blissful experience, but overall I'm so happy with the boys' progress. Ben and Zach are enrolled in Utah Virtual Academy (UTVA), and I get to play the roll of their Learning Coach everyday...not always easy but very rewarding.

I have a lovely sister-in-law that is a home school mom extraordinaire, and I'm amazed by how intelligent her kids are...no doubt she has contributed a lot to their awesomeness. At the first thought of homeschooling the boys, my thoughts went immediately to her and I quickly dismissed the option all together. After a little digging and a better understanding of UTVA and the curriculum, I realized that my meager mom skills were sufficient enough to navigate the boys through the program.

Ben and Zach have just rolled right along with it all. They were confused by a lot of it at first. I'm kind of like their teacher but I'm not. Their real teacher they only see online. They have classmates but have no idea who any of them are. They're in school but don't actually go to a school. Whether it makes sense to them or not, they usually do what is asked of them without too much grief.

Before we got underway I was terrified, but after keeping my head down and plugging away the first few weeks, I realized that although every day may not be great, there would be a point where I would look back and be glad I made the call to home school the boys. My goal at the beginning was to get the boys ready for 1st Grade, and I think we're well on our way towards reaching that goal. 

A House!!

I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that it's December! What happened to the last couple of months? I realized after going through pictures that I hardly took any in October and not so many in November either, and the photos I do have...well they're not the best but oh well! Pics or no pics, there's still a lot to catch up on.

We spent the tail end of September hunting for a house to rent.  I quickly realized how competitive our search was going to be, and it was hard not to get discouraged. We didn't have unreasonable expectations, mostly we just wanted to be a in a good neighborhood and have a yard for the boys to play in. After the first few weeks of looking, I was doing my best to stay optimistic but at the same time preparing myself for more apartment living. How we lucked up and got the house we did is beyond me, but there hasn't been a day that has gone by the last couple of months that I have not been grateful to be in this house. We love it here!

We lucked up and got so much more than we ever thought we would get. There's a nice-sized yard which is fully fenced in, and the last tenants left a great playhouse/swing set in the backyard that the boys have enjoyed. There's a garden! I'm so excited for Spring! The boys have a play room in addition to their bedroom, I have my own sewing room, there's plenty of storage, and most importantly it felt like home right away. When it came time to sign the lease, Darius signed without even seeing the house in person...I'm glad he loves it too, or I may not have heard the end of it!