My odd, little quirks.

So I have been PMS'ing for a few days now and I've been really emotional and moody. I know...gross. This morning Aerie and I were talking on the phone and he was like, "Are you on your period or what???" I felt like talking about me. I had done this really stupid questionaire online and the results really put me in a wacko mood. Click here if you want to test yourself. So I started to ask Aerie tons of questions. He was getting a little irritated by my questions...I must admit that I was being a royal pain...but anyway, he wrote out what he said to me because I begged him to. My mind doesn't absorb what people tell me - I need to see it to remember it. So this is what he wrote:

.

Tracy,

You are a planner. But you don't work well under stress.
You are not spontaneous.
You can't work under pressure.
Everything needs to be "EXACTLY" the way you want - or its not going to work.
You focus on the minute insignificant details more than anything else.

You are wonderful at completing a task, but it takes you 5 times longer than any other person I know.
Your effort is always appreciated, but it is not always necessary.

For example - Why spend 10 minutes fixing the boys hair if you are just going to put a hat on their head?
You can't make a meal unless you know every detail of the recipe - no wingin' it.
You can't let someone in our home without it being "SPOTLESS".
You are almost always late because you can't leave the house unless you are immaculatly groomed.

There are positives and negatives to each of these quirks you have.
I think you need to learn to choose your battles.

You don't need to spend more than 5 minutes getting ready to go buy groceries.
You can fix kids hair when we get there.
People don't care if the floor is washed before they come over to visit.
Some of the best recipes in the world are made by wingin' it.

I love you.

.

Hmmm, I do believe that what he wrote was very true, but now I sort of wish I wouldn't have asked him to tell me. I would like to justify my bizarre behaviour by hearing all about your quirks.

In His presence

This past Monday was Women's Night at The Life Centre. To add an intimate touch to the evening, each of the women in our Lifegroup wrote out a word of encouragement into a card and gave it to someone. This is what God put on my heart to write. These words were inspired by something I read in my Mom's Devotional Bible.

"Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God. But where do you find Joy? You can find it in God's presence. If you want Joy, read your bible, not just the devotional. Read the actual words of God in the pages of the bible - a few small scriptures with your morning coffee. Remember them while you're in the shower, on your way to work, on your lunch breaks, before you turn out the lights at night. Joy comes when you adjust your perspective on life to God's. And that happens by reading his Word and spending time in his presence."

Today I realized something. I am very happy, but I am not joyful - there is a difference. I want to find Joy in all circumstances. I want Joy to bubble up from inside of me and rub off on my kids. For a split second this morning I thought to myself, "Well, how do I get Joy?" And I immediately answered my own question. In God's presence.

I haven't been spending any time in God's presence. I pray, I think of him often and thank him throughout my day, I open my bible while kids are eating, but I have not spent time in his presence in weeks - maybe even months. You see, God wants us to abide in him, not just visit him occasionally (John 8:31). Jesus will actually dwell, abide and make his permanent home in our hearts. His presence will cause us to be rooted deep in love so that we can experience Joy and the complete fullness of God.

My goal is to spend time in God's presence every day - whether it be 5 minutes or an hour.

The nine laws to staying lean for life!

Aerie gets a newsletter for Outdoor Ottawa and this was one of the articles in the newsletter. It's probably one of the best articles I've read on weightloss. Check it out here.

. . .

"Not long ago, the secret to losing weight seemed straightforward: Just give up bread. Not long before that, it was all about avoiding fat. And when those theories sprung leaks, a long list of diet fads was there to fill the holes — cabbage soup, grapefruit, eating for your blood type ... the list goes on and on.

To help you stop diet-hopping, we've peeled away the layers of hype to reveal the core concepts and surprising science behind what really works for weight loss. Follow these nine laws for hitting that perfect number on the scale — and stay lean for life."

Frosty the Invincible

Now wasn't yesterday (Friday) morning a beautiful day to play outside in the snow?! We all know that snow has to be the perfect consistency to be able to roll into a snowman. When I took a look outside Friday morning, I knew it was the day. It was so mild out...and very wet too.
So we all got bundled up and went outside on one very important mission - to make a snowman. The kids had SO much fun... and I think I had even more fun. This was our first snowman of the year!!! There was very little snow on the ground so we could only make a little snowman. After we finished, the boys suggested we give our snowman a name. Ethan blurted out, "I know mommy - FROSTY!" I suggested a few more original names, but they were really stuck on Frosty. So here is a photo of Ethan, Ty and their new friend Frosty.

Last night we left the house for a few hours and on our way home late last night it was raining. We warned the boys that Frosty would probably be all melted and assured them that we'd make another "Frosty" again when the snow was right.

Well, this morning when the boys woke up and looked outside...............Frosty was still standing!!!!! There was no snow anywhere else. He lost his eyes and smile, but the important thing is that Frosty is still alive! :-) He's like a SUPER snowman (he needs a cape)!!! I wonder if he'll be there all winter...hmmm...Frosty's little stump - I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Happy Birthday Ange...

What is a Sister?

She is your mirror shining back at you with a world of possibilities.

She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best,

and loves you anyway.

She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who

knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense

attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink.

Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child.

~Barbara Alpert~

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If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater. ~Pam Brown

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More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad and good. ~Linda Sunshine

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To have a loving relationship with a sister is not simply to have a buddy or a confident -- it is to have a soul mate for life. ~Victoria Secunda

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Chance made us Sisters, hearts made us friends. ~Anonymous

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If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. ~Linda Sunshine

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A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

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Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

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God has blessed me again and again. Always a sister, always a friend.

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A loyal sister is worth a thousand friends. ~Marian Eigerman

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A sister is both your mirror -- and your opposite. ~Elizabeth Fishel

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A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves—a special kind of double.

May all your wishes and dreams come to pass.

I love you, Ange.

Tracy

I loved my boring vacation

I LOVE vacations! I look forward to them with anticipation. Earlier this year we made plans to go to Florida for Christmas, along with my whole family. My grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins from my mom's side all live in Florida, and we haven't seen them in years. My grandpa Hawk has never even met Aerie or the kids. Anyway, we didn't make it for various reasons.

Aerie and I both had two weeks off over the Christmas holidays...and we had no plans. Unless you call "relaxing" a plan. Well, I guess it is. Aside from our little Christmas family visits, we didn't really do anything. Oh, we took the boys to Cosmic Adventures three times (their grandparents bought them each a membership for the entire year). Indeed we relaxed. I actually began to find myself bored! When I am on vacation from work, something seems to happen; I take a vacation from everything - from laundry, dishes, groceries, eating properly, exercising, blogging, makeup, cleaning. I have no motivation when I am on vacation. We sleep in until about 9:00 or 10:00 am, we eat breakfast late...so by 11:00 it feels like half the day is gone. I drag my heels all morning. The boys watch TV...play on the computer, play with their toys; I check my e-mail...sit on the couch. I have no motivation whatsoever. The first couple of days is fine...it feels good to just do nothing, but after the first week I really wanted to do something!!! I didn't have the drive to do anything though - even putting my makeup on was hard to do.

So I have been sort of dreading Monday, January 8th for over two weeks now...but now that it's finally here, I'm kind of happy it is. It was really nice to get back into our little daycare routine. Breakfast was all finished by 8:00...and we actually ate in the kitchen, as opposed to watching TV while we eat as we did throughout our vacation. We had our snacktime, sang some songs, learned some letters from the alphabet, had a storytime, played with Playdoh...it was GREAT! And I even got 3 loads of laundry cleaned. I'm excited about this week.

Vacation is so important though. I think everyone needs to take time away from their daily busy life and just rest. It is rejuvenating and it puts everything back into perspective.

I loved my boring vacation, but now I'm ready for everything to go back to normal. I feel refreshed and ready for all of life's adventures and challenges.

It's good to be back :)

Mimi

I have been thinking a lot about death today. Someone very special to me died this past week - my Aunt Gerry. She is actually my dad's Aunt, but we always called her Aunt Gerry as well.

Every summer my sister and I spent a week at Aunt Gerry's (Mimi) house in Pembroke. Mimi had 3 children - Marc, Luke and Rochelle (my dad's cousins). We always had a really fun time at Mimi's place. Every year we looked forward to our little traditions; walking to the corner store to buy loads of candy, eating velveeta cheese in the box, before bedtime snack of little Normandie chocolate covered cookies, playing in the backyard with Mimi's neighbour Cheryl, sleeping in our cousins, Luke and Marc's, captain beds. Everything was an adventure at Mimi's place. We began our yearly visits to Pembroke when we were about four years old up until we were about twelve. One of our fondest memories was staying up late and playing cards with Aunt Gerry and Rochelle. We loved it!!!

Soon after we turned thirteen, we just stopped going. I'm not really sure why. We started to make friends in highschool and our summers just got busier. Years went by, and we thought about Aunt Gerry, but the busyness of life got in the way.

Over the past 15 years, the only time we really saw Aunt Gerry, Rochelle, Marc and Luke were at really significant occasions, like...funerals. Every few years someone passed away and we saw them. We always laughed and reminissed about the good old days and agreed that we should keep in touch. But years just kept going by and we would again meet at someone else's funeral.

Well, this time it was Aunt Gerry's funeral. Aunt Gerry may have been about 90 years old, but she was full of life. She was fun, mischevious - a little stinker! We really loved her. I still can't believe that she is gone. I sort of thought she would live forever. She was so young at heart.

My whole point here is that time should not have gotten the best of us. I should have made an effort to keep in touch with Aunt Gerry and visit her more often. I chose to let my busy life get in the way and now I am sort of left with some regrets.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if we love someone, we need to make time for them. A Christmas card once a year doesn't cut it for me. I can think of some friends and family members who I haven't gotten in touch with in a really long time, and today I've made a choice that no matter how busy I get, I am going to make time for the people that I care about. I'm not going to let the years slip by - not anymore.

Tracy, Mimi & Angela
This photo was taken the last time we saw her, 3 years ago.
I was 9 months pregnant with Ty.

A different mindset

This week Aerie has been working really hard. He has a second job and has been taking some extra shifts, as well as working overtime in his day job. I just appreciate so much what he is sacrificing for us and I have been thinking of a way to bless him and show him how much I love him. I haven't really thought of anything yet. But anyway, last night he gets home from a long day at work at 7 pm and after a few minutes of being home he gives me a huge hug and kiss and he asks me what he can do for me to show me how much he loves me. I was like, "what? no no no...you have this backwards...I need to show you how much I love you!" Then he says, "I look around and all I see is your love for me - the house is clean, the dishes are done, supper is waiting for me, the boys are well behaved..."

And I just thought, wow this is what marriage is about; not taking...but giving - not concentrating on what we can get out of our marriage, but rather, what we can give. And it always comes back to us, doesn't it!?

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Risk Night

What is "Risk Night" - some of you might ask? Aerie began hosting these last year and loves it! A bunch of guys just get together and play Risk until somebody wins. I thought it was just a "guy thing" in the beginning, so I would ask some of my girl friends over and we'd chat and eat while the guys played. But the last time we hosted a Risk Night, I decided to play & I loved it. I didn't necessarily love the game, but I am always up for the competition :)

What I love most about Risk nights is that it's different every single time. We always open the invitation to everyone and we end up with a different gang every time. No cliques. I can't stand cliques, so this is just great!

This time Steve + Susie, Stuart + Sarah and Bobby + Christine showed up. The guys played Risk...and we ladies decided to play something else. Well, we tried to anyway, HE-HE! It was late - we were all tired - couldn't concentrate enough to read the instructions to play Mad Gab... or Cranium - so we laughed, and laughed, and laughed about everything. I had so much fun with these girls!!! I wish I could remember more... but I can't. So Sarah, Susie & Christine - you girls will all have to leave a comment and tell us about all the fun you had on Friday night too!

Christine, Sarah, Tracy + Susie
...we laughed a lot

Christine, Sarah, Tracy, Susie +
her little Zoe

Steve, Stuart, Aerie + Bobby

Steve, Stuart, Aerie (rolling -
the dice) + Bobby

A little Friday morning funny...

A man in Newfoundland called his son in Calgary two days before Christmas and said, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son replied.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father said. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so I want you to call your sister in Vancouver and tell her."

Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "No way they're getting divorced!" she shouted, "I'll take care of this!"

She called Newfoundland immediately and screamed at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced!! Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there by tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing. DO YOU HEAR ME?" and she then hung up.

The old man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay," he said, "they're coming for Christmas and paying their own way."

Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Funny, eh?

So much to do!

I've been busy lately - too busy. I have huge list of things that just have to be done, and my Christmas cards is one of them. Every year we send out between 70-80 Christmas cards and I am running behind this year. So anyway, Aerie comes home last night and tells me that he's been thinking and has decided that he needs to prioritize. I'm like, "great idea!" Then he asks me what he can do to help me. Christmas cards seem to be the big one because they are really time consuming and we want to get them out before Christmas. So after the kids are all tucked into bed, Aerie takes out his glue stick and starts glueing stamps on the envelopes (he has like a million previously used, unstamped stamps) and writing our return address on the envelopes as well.

When he is finished that, he asks me what he can do next, and offers to start baking some cookies while we are doing the cards. I tell him that it's not a good idea because it's too late, and so I tell him that he can wrap up some of the Christmas gifts - and he does. While he is wrapping he starts asking little questions like, "Okay this is for Jaden, who do we put it from? Ethan & Ty or all of us"...I'm like, "I don't know, put Ethan and Ty". Then he says, "What colour of wrapping paper should I use?"...I say, "Use all three"..."What colour of pen should I use?"... So, now I'm starting to give some attitude. I know Aerie just knows that I like things a certain way and I guess he just doesn't want to screw up...but I feel like a mom at this point. All of a sudden he says, "Wow, you're really grumpy!" The truth is, I'm really tired. It's midnight and we are not even half way through our cards.

So Aerie comes back over to the table where I am sitting and starts adding more stamps to the envelopes that I've completed. THEN he starts to do something! He licks the envelopes shut! But along with that came this most disgusting sound of slobber as he licked each envelope. Everytime he did it (about 60 times) I looked up at him with a face of disgust. I'm starting to get real irrritated by this noise and I'm like, "Ugh! Do you have to make that noise - what is that????"

Then he says this to me. "Tracy, how many husbands do you think would sit here and do Christmas cards with their wives, especially at 1:00 in the morning!" Then he starts going through names of husbands that we know and he's like, "Name me ONE guy that you think would do this?"..."And you're giving ME attitude for making noise while I lick the envelopes?"..."You don't know how good you've got it".

We both burst out laughing uncontrollably. It really put things into perspective for me. My mom told me when Aerie and I got married seven years ago to not take Aerie for granted. Aerie is a giver. He is selfless - always thinking about others before himself. He does things to make me happy and take the load off of me - things that I know not many other husbands would do, and although I never really thought I took him for granted, I am realizing that some of the things he does for me/us - I do take for granted. Aerie and I have always made it a priority to be polite to one another behind closed doors. We say thank you & please all the time, and we believe that it is a wonderful model for our boys. We can tell them to say thank you and please, but ultimately they are going to do what we do, right? Even though I say please and thank you to Aerie, sometimes I find that maybe I just do it out of habit. Last night while he was handing me piles of stamped Christmas cards, I said thank you each time, but I don't know if I really, really understood the sacrifice he was making for me - simply out of love. He just loves me and wants to spend time with me. I think that's so sweet.

I have a question. I would LOVE to hear from anyone who knows or IS a husband who would actually DO all these things that I've described here. Just so that I can tell Aerie that he's not the only one :)

Getting to know Aerie + Tracy

Tracy's Answers:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them in pretty paper and ribbon
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Just simple white lights
4. Do you hang mistletoe? You know, we don’t hang one but I would love to!
5. When do you put your decorations up? The first week of December (right after my birthday)
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My mom makes a mean Turkey dinner. I really love turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh! And meat pie!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I’m not really sure, there are so many. One would be going into the forest every year and picking out the best possible Christmas tree. My dad always made it really fun for us.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I remember this one day when I was about 12 or 13, my mom and I were downstairs and she told me that Santa didn’t exist. I was so mad! I couldn’t believe that they deceived me all of these years and I felt like a real idiot. I must have had some idea before she actually verbalized that, but I don’t know; this is just what I remember.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We celebrate Christmas Eve at my parents’ place, so we open all of the gifts from just on my family’s side.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I have wicker balls with tiny white lights inside all throughout our tree, little wicker ornaments, red balls and a star on top. Very simple. I want to add a new colour; I was thinking of an olive green.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Mixed feelings on that. I enjoy looking at the snow from inside cozied up in front of the fireplace. I don’t like the cold, and getting the kids dressed up in snowsuits is a pain.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes I can. I used to figure skate and won a silver medal. But I don’t skate all that well now. I only go skating once or twice a year, so…
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No. Every year my parents let my sister and I go and pick out a whole bunch of new clothes. So that is always exciting.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family, giving gifts, time off work, the excitement of Christmas morning and most importantly – remembering Jesus’ birthday – the true meaning of Christmas.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Turtle brownies – I make them every year. Do you want the recipe? They’re really soooooooooo delicious. I won’t be eating any this year though, but I will still make some.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Placing a toy at the tip of the boys’ bed for Christmas morning.
17. What tops your tree? A silver star
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Oh, I love both! I get more fulfillments out of giving though.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I don’t know – like them all. But I really, really love my new Bluegrass Christmas CD that my friend, Is, bought me for my birthday!
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Hmmm, they’re not yuck…liver & brussel sprouts are yuck! But they aren’t like really yummy either.

Aerie's Answers:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Both
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I am Santa, and I do both.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored is more fun. White is more neat. The more lights the better.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. I like to just give a kiss for no reason.
5. When do you put your decorations up? After Tracy's birthday.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? All of them.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Waking up and looking at gifts at 3 in the morning when I was 10 years old.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember, I think I just figured it was impossible the whole time because we never had a fireplace and it didn't make sense how he could get in our home.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Always.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I get the decorations out and let Tracy tell me what matches and how things should look. She has the best eye for that stuff. If it was up to me we would have a very ugly looking tree.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I could live in a house made of snow. I love being outdoors.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family, giving gifts, time off work, the excitement of Christmas morning and most importantly – remembering Jesus’ birthday – the true meaning of Christmas.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? All of them.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Turkey dinner.
17. What tops your tree? A silver star
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Both. I get more fulfillments out of giving though.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent night reminds me of the reason for the season, jingle bells reminds me of the weather, jingle bell rock reminds me of the fun of family getting together, white Christmas makes me think of Bing Crosby, All of them are great.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I'll eat a candy cane but I prefer a chocolate or a truffle.

Say CHEESE!!!

In case you haven't already noticed, I LOVE photography! I love taking pictures and I love anything to do with photos. So naturally I love posting photos on my blog. I tend to go overboard in the picture department, as some friends and family can attest to. I have been known to e-mail a gazillion photos at a time. So, I figure that by posting them on my blog, I won't have to do that anymore...or as often :) HE-HE! 'Cause we all know that I'll never stop completely, right!

Ah, it's good to get that off of my chest.

Our early Christmas at Cassie + Luka's place

This year Aerie's sister, Cassie, and her family are spending Christmas with Luka's family in Italy. So we decided to celebrate early! This past Sunday we incorportated four events into one special day; Christmas, my birthday, Amy-lee's birthday (15th) and Ty's birthday (20th).

We had a really fun day. We woke up early and drove to Montreal with my in-laws and Aerie's sister, Laura. We went to Cassie and Luka's church service, and then headed over to Cassie & Luka's adorable apartment. We don't get to spend all that much time with Cassie, Luka and Amy-lee, so it was really nice to all be together.

For those of you who know Cassie, she is doing great! Her and Luka are both managers at Starbucks and are extremely busy between working, serving in their church and taking care of their daughter, Amy-lee, who is almost 2 yrs old and an absolute doll!

It was a true blessing to spend our day with Aerie's family. Cassie and Luka made us such a beautiful meal - very yummy! And I was really impressed by Luka's Birthday cake...take a look at the picture. He DID that! I can't remember the Italian name for that cake...hmmm, sorry.

Do you know how blessed I am to have an amazing family myself, PLUS a just as amazing family on Aerie's side!? Our boys are so blessed to have two sets of wonderful Grandparents that love them so much and a bunch of cousins, and amazing Aunts and Uncles. I am just overwhelmed by it all. I thank God so much for my family; don't quite know what we'd do without them.

Biafore's - Pasina's - Murphy's

Aerie showing his sisters some love

Laura + Cassie / Luka cutting (killing) the cake :)

Amy-lee + Ty: What a cutie she is!!! This little sweetie
LOVES to dress-up! Everytime she pressed the button
on her little princess wand, she got so excited!

Ty / Ethan

Biafore's - trying to get at

least ONE good photo to

put in our Christmas cards

Impossible! The boys were

too tired to cooperate...

ohhh well.

Ok. Now Ethan is smiling,

but now Ty won't look at the

camera :)

Aerie + Trace xoxo

This is us waiting for Rose

to take our picture! He-he!

Angela...my beautiful sister and friend

Today I want to share about someone who is very special to me; my sister. I’ve been blessed with not only a sister, but a sister who also happens to be my very best friend.

Ange and I are only two years apart and we have been inseparable since birth. We’ve been through our share of fights growing up – that’s life – but one thing we have never struggled with as sisters is jealousy. We have never felt the need or desire to compete with each other. We knew that we were both different in so many ways, but loved equally by our parents. We have never envied each other, but rather, we’ve celebrated each others’ individuality and strengths.

I have a bond with my sister that goes deep and can never be broken. I love her so much and I’m so grateful to have her in my life.

Ange and I are alike in many ways. We share many of the same interests such as: fitness, fashion, decorating, shopping, reading magazines, singing, watching shows like American Idol, eating chocolate and McDonalds… We have even been told on a number of occasions that we look like twins; we’ve been told on an equal amount of occasions that we look nothing alike. We share many of the same mannerisms and our husbands and parents even get our voices confused over the phone. Another quality that we share is our humour; we always seem to laugh at things that other people don’t find that funny. Even when we are watching a movie or something, we will burst out laughing at all the same parts while everyone else is quiet. When Ange and I are together, we always laugh, always have fun and always have so much to talk about. My sister is the ONLY person that I can think of who I can stand talking on the phone to for hours. Time flies when we’re talking. We even do fun things like e-mail each other cute clothes and styles that we like while we are talking on the phone.

Ange is one of the most conscientious and determined people that I know. No let me rephrase that, she is definitely THE most determined person I know. When she sets her mind to something or makes a goal, I am always amazed at how dedicated she is to achieving that goal. All of our lives I have seen Ange set a goal and accomplish it. This inspires me to do the same. I am determined in some areas, but most of the time I am swayed easily and really unfocused. Ange is totally focused and I love that about her. She loves to makes lists. Oh yes, my sister is a true "beaver".

Ange is also one of the funniest people I know - like HILARIOUS! (I am the funniest person I know, so she comes in second there, he-he...and Lori, you are very funny too!) She loves to make people laugh, in fact, she thrives on that. When she starts, she cannot stop. My sister has a shy side to her, but as soon as she feels comfortable and opens up – watch out!!! She could really be a comedian! Last year I had a girl’s night at my place and I just invited about 10 of my close friends. They didn’t all know each other, and that made it interesting. While we were eating dinner, my sister was amusing us all with her humour. I almost peed my pants laughing. She is so funny!

When Ange makes a good friend, they are friends for life. She is honest, trustworthy, dedicated, fun, sincere, encouraging and a beautiful friend. She loves her family with ever fiber of her being. She is the most dedicated wife and mom that I know, and she loves with all of her heart.

I love you sister and even if we were not sisters, I would still want you as my best friend.

...and now for some funny pictures :) These photos were taken last week on my birthday. Actually, at that Christmas IBEW party that I was telling you about.

My Special Day

Monday (December the 4th) was my birthday. On Sunday I celebrated my birthday with some of my favourite people; Aerie, my parents, my sister, brother in law, niece and nephew and my two sweeties - Ethan & Ty. We had such a fun time! On Sunday morning we went to an annual Christmas party held by the IBEW (my dad's work)... and I'll probably post some of those pictures later. Afterwards we headed over to my parents' place for some pizza & cake. I love my family. I think I have the best family!

So the following day...on my actual birthday, Aerie gave me the best gift ever! He gave me a day off. While I slept in and headed out to the mall to spend all the money that I was blessed with on my Birthday, he took care of 5 cranky kids! He is so great with the kids and they all ADORE him! What an amazing husband I have, eh!

I had a perfect day on my own. I haven't been shopping in a very long time, so it was a real treat and I feel so very blessed. I also had a dentist appointment that day, but I was very happy because I didn't even get ONE cavity! Yay! I got a big headache after I left the dentist office (that always happens), but that didn't stop me from staying out until 8:00 pm!!!! Wooooo hooooo!

Here are a few photos of me with my incredible family. On a side note, do you remember the days when your cake was all yours to blow out? Yep, after you have kids your cake is never really your cake. But that's ok. I may have blown one of those candles out this year.

Ty, Jaden, Mommy, Ethan

Amber-lee, Ty, Jaden, Ethan
and Mommy

Oh, they love this!

Mommy & Ethan

I love this picture!
Aerie is such a nut.

Tracy, Ange & Mike

Tracy, Ange & Mike (he's not
really picking his nose).
He's going to be really
embarassed when he finds
out that I've posted this
photo. HE-HE!

P.S: Can you GUESS how old I am?
P.S.S: Who looks younger - me or my sister?

Sleep

UPDATE! I know last week I said that my goal was to get to sleep by 10:00 pm, but I'm sorry to admit that I just can't. I don't know why? In fact, I've being going to sleep even LATER since I've decided to make an early betime a goal. On Sunday night I went to bed at 4:30 am...I woke up at 6:30 am and then got to bed last night at 11:00 pm (<- which is not THAT bad I guess). I'm tired though...I don't really have problems getting to sleep once I'm in my bed...aside from all the thoughts racing through my BRAIN! AHHHHH! What is wrong with me?

Anyway, how important is sleep anyway??? Is it really THAT important? This is what I read about the...

Benefits of sleep:

Sleep is an important function of good health. Just as cholesterol and blood pressure are good indicators of overall health, so too is healthy sleep.

Research shows that the body restores itself during sleep. As we sleep, tissue grows and repairs itself and the immune system is strengthened. The brain may also repair itself during sleep and researchers believe sleep is critical to healthy brain function. In fact, researchers also believe the brain performs actions vital to learning and memory during sleep. Sleep can also affect the levels of hormones and other important chemicals circulating in your body

Do you know what happens when you sleep?

A good night's sleep actually consists of different stages and levels of sleep. In sleep clinic studies, people have been connected to an electroencephalograph (EEG) machine that measures electric brain activity. An EEG allows us to see when there is a lot of brain activity and when the mind is at rest.

From recording brain activity and monitoring other bodily functions, scientists now divide a night of sleep into two general phases. Together, these two phases form one complete sleep cycle that lasts approximately 90 minutes. You go through two to five of these cycles in a typical night's sleep.

PHASE 1 - The first general phase of sleep consists of 4 stages and is called Non-Rapid Eye Movement sleep, or NREM.

Stages of NREM Sleep:

Stage 1: When you first fall asleep, you enter the lightest stage of sleep. It's really a bridge between wakefulness and deep sleep, and you can be easily awakened during this time. Your senses are muted, so you won't be bothered by light sounds. However, loud noises - a car alarm, slamming door or crying child - can wake you up.

Stage 2: Since no loud noises woke you up, you now travel into a deeper sleep. During this stage your heart rate evens out and your body temperature drops. This stage accounts for roughly half of an average night’s sleep.

Stages 3 and 4: Stages 3 and 4 are the deepest phases of non-REM sleep and represent about 15% of a total night’s sleep. During these combined stages of sleep, your blood pressure falls, your body temperature continues to drop and your breathing slows. The noises that might wake you during stage 1 sleep do not rouse you during these later, deeper stages of sleep.

PHASE 2 - Most people have heard of the second general phase of sleep - Rapid Eye Movement sleep or REM.

REM Sleep:

After approximately 30 minutes of deep sleep in non-REM stages 3 and 4, we begin to cycle back through stages 2 and 1 until we enter the period of REM sleep. The brain activity during REM sleep is similar to brain activity during wakefulness. Dreaming is common in REM sleep.

So then...

What is a Good Night's Sleep?

When you get a good night's sleep, you wake up feeling restored, refreshed, alert and ready to face the day ahead. Good sleep is restorative. It allows us to be more effective and productive in our jobs and daily lives as well as in our personal relationships. Good sleep also enhances our quality of life. It helps us to feel good and have a sense of well-being throughout the day.

You've probably heard the magic number is 8 hours a night. In truth, different people have different sleep needs. If you wake up feeling refreshed, then you received the correct amount of sleep.

Just as we all recognize the benefits of a good night's sleep, we all know how it feels to have slept poorly. For most people, even a few nights of reduced sleep can have a dramatic impact on their well being. In all, more than 40% of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities. Additionally, long term sleeplessness has been associated with depression, obesity and other mental health disorders.