Matchy matchy

Matchy, matchy... That's what one of my friends calls my delight in matching my daughters clothing to one another and sometimes with myself. I know... it's over the top in the world of mommies. But I love it! And, I know I only have a couple of years left before Eden and Kyleigh refuse. So, in the mean time, why not have fun? Eden and Kyleigh like it right now!

Here's the latest "matchy" collection. I started off not matching them on Sunday, but then just had to join the party! I LOVE IT! Just look at my cutie girls!!!

Preserving!

Canning. The work of it... chopping, cleaning, stirring, measuring. And the mess of it. Sticky floors, cupboards covered with cloths, knives, bowls, lids and jar boxes.

What makes it worth it? Rows of beautiful jars lined up on my cupboard.

And the lovely sound of snapping lids. Oh yah... that's a sound I love to hear!

Usually just as I finish cleaning up the snapping begins. "Snap" goes one lid... and I think "ahh... another success". It's a promise that I have done my job well and my labours will be protected through the winter season. It's also a positive reinforcement, right there in my kitchen. And it happens multiple times - with each little jar that seals, which is almost as delicious as what's inside the jars. And let me tell you - my Mom's recipe for salsa is really awesome. The pie filling / apple crisp filling - oh yah!

You can see that I did salsa, apple pie filling and crabapple jelly. I also canned dill pickles and froze whole strawberries / raspberries to make into jam later, or use for smoothies. YUM! I love fall!

More "preparedness"

And... speaking of preparedness (see canning above), Will and I are excited about our most recent addition to our food storage. A large water tanker which we filled on the weekend after we found a potable water hose.

The instructions say to rinse it out before you use it. We did that and aroused the curiosity of one neighbor, who saw what we were doing out of her window and actually came outside to ask us about it. We explained what it was and she said "great, I'll know where to come if we need to". Yet, I know it seems a bit bizarre to those who don't grow up knowing about food storage and preparedness. Made me grateful for that.

Moving it down the stairs was really fun! Fortunately for us, Will's brain understands how things fit together. Unfortunately for us, I'm not in Will's brain. So... although I should understand which way to move my body and the tanker, I learned that my husband has all the strength in this area!

Anyway... the tanker made it down the stairs into our furnace room, and we got it filled before we have to turn off the outside water for the winter. We have water and food. Now we need to work on a heat supply.

Rock stars!

It's amazing how much joy children can bring! I started taping this after the first impromtu and best performance was over, but you'll still get the idea. There they were, Eden and Kyleigh, in their own little world, imagining themselves as rock stars. The entire neighborhood could have been their audience - I'm sure everyone heard - but my girls didn't care - they just were doing it for the joy of it! It's never quite the same once the camera is rolling, but still is something I will love to remember in years to come!

First day of School

Eden's first day of school! You can see the nervous, yet excited and happy expression. I don't think my heart will ever forget that because I felt the same way! Nervous... that she'll make friends, like her new teacher, and feel successful about herself. Excited and happy because I know Eden needs the challenge. What a beautiful little daughter and bright spot in my life!

Kyleigh... what can I say? Dressed in her new purple outfit with her hair done to her specifications... she makes me smile and laugh. I am so glad I have a little buddy with me at home! Kyleigh starts preschool this week. I'm going to exercise in the 4 hours I have without children each week! :-)

Hanging on to summer

Hanging out with the Sheers - we rode the train into downtown Calgary, went to Prince's Island Park and had ice cream. The kids were really 'into it' as you can see!

At the Calgary Zoo late in August with the Sheers and with big sister Raylene and her boyfriend, Levi.

One of my favorite things to do... ever!... is sit on a beautiful patio with people I love, eating and visiting! I'm working on training my girls to love the same thing! Here we are at Earl's in Red Deer with our fancy drinks and desserts soon to come. A fun memory!

Our beautiful yard!

I am so lucky to be married to someone who loves gardening. He finds the work relaxing. I'm glad, because I get to enjoy the fruits of his labour! Unfortunately the camera doesn't do it justice, but I'm still posting this anyway!