Introducing Mara Ruth!!

Welcome to the world beautiful Mara Ruth! Our niece has arrived 2 weeks early but the timing could not have been better! I talked with Jen on Thursday evening at 5 pm because I wanted to get the McCullough Family Cook Book emailed to me so I could print it off. Jen said she was having some cramping but nothing out of the ordinary and that she was ready for this baby to come. I said it would be awesome if the baby decided to come over the long weekend as James' parents were already planning on coming for a visit and we could easily hop in the car because we were having a pretty laid back weekend. Jen phoned us at 7 am the next morning to say that the baby girl arrived... I could hardly believe my ears! I kept saying, "Seriously?? No Really?? I just talked to you before I went to bed!!!"

Her water broke at 1 am Friday morning so she had a shower before leaving for the hospital which would be a 40 min drive into Winnipeg. They left for the hospital at 2 am, arrived at 3 am, was pushing by 4 am and had the baby at 4:30 am! What the heck??? How come people are soo blessed with good, uneventful labours?? I would have loved to have that labour instead of my 15 hour labour!

So we went out on Sunday morning, arrived around 3:30 pm and went straight to the hospital. As soon as I got to the room I got to hold my precious niece Mara, and Sommer started bawling! So I went over to her and she wrapped her arms around my neck and cried, "Mama! Mama!" So I ended up giving the baby back, holding Sommer and then taking Sommer to meet her little cousin. In the end she was fine with me holding the baby but it did take a few minutes. Gave me a little insight to how Sommer would react when we bring our next baby home.

Mara was out of the hospital by noon on Monday so we were lucky enough to spend the day with them before driving home around supper time. We thought it would be a good time to leave because we would be at Brandon around 8 pm, grab some supper and stretch, and then put Sommer in her car seat and she would sleep the rest of the way... WRONG! Sommer cried from Brandon to Indian Head! The longest hour and a half of my life. "Mama! MAAAAAMA! Mama mama mama!" I would crawl to the back but that would make her so mad because she just wanted out of the seat. So in the end we drove in complete silence hoping that she would forget we were there and fall asleep. My poor angel!

Well, the baby is adorable. The mom is doing great! And our family can't wait for another baby to arrive!! If I was okay with having children in the spring/summer I would totally try for another but we do too much stuff in the summertime that I dont want to bring a baby along for. So, here's hoping to another fall/winter baby!




Our house had a major mix-up yesterday when the wrong carpet was shipped and installed. I know, BRUTAL! James didnt notice until the were completely done the upstairs which was very unfortunate. I came home and almost cried because I do not like the carpet that was installed. What makes it so bad is that I dont HATE the carpet but I dont LOVE the carpet... I just dont like it... is it liveable, PROBABLY.... I went to the carpet place early this morning to clear everything up. Our carpet (the right stuff) is sitting somewhere in Winnipeg so it will be shipped on Friday and we pray it will be installed on Monday. The Granite Guy hurt is back yesterday so our counters will not be installed until tomorrow, so everything is being pushed back a couple of days. Yes, unfortuantely we will not be in to our house until sometime next week. My sister comes on Wednesday so she may be helping us move into the house instead of helping me decorate. But I figure what's 2 more days.... ugh!

Soon enough we will be back to living in our own house and not living out of boxes in the basement of Garnet & Sharon's house! If only it was this weekend.....

Is the house finished yet???

So this house REALLY needs to get done soon because I am not sure if I can take living with the grandparents for too much longer! Okay, so we have only been here a week and it's not that bad but they get up sooo early! Sleeping right below their room is a morning nightmare because they LOVE to walk around with their shoes on in the morning - and by morning I mean 6:45ish. Sommer is in the room beside us and I often lie there and pray that she will keep sleeping through the clomping that's going on above my head. Why - someone please let me know - WHY people walk around in the morning with their shoes on!!??

The house is almost done. The kitchen has been installed, the hardwood floors are finished, the travertine tiles have been laid in the bathroom/laundry room, and today the masonary guys are putting the stack stone on the fireplace. The carpet is being installed on Tuesday on the 2nd floor and in the basement, the granite will be in next Wednesday and then the baseboards are going in on Friday! OH MY GOSH!!! The cleaners are booked for Friday and moving day should be the next weekend :) I feel like this has been the longest year and a half of my life and the end is finally in sight. Ill post some pictures soon!

Kristi, my sister, will be here on Sept. 10 -16 and I can hardly wait! She will be the first person to sleep in the new guest room - you should feel honored Kristi! I can't wait for her to come and help me decorate and watch Sommer while I unpack boxes... I hate unpacking!!

I should get running here and clean up the basement since my grandparents are having company over to watch the football game this evening. Ill post later when I have more time :)

Happy long weekend!!

Sommer - My helpful packer!

Sommer sitting in the empty kitchen.

Lovin' the sprinkles she found in the box!

Unpacking the box she found on the floor!

Happy 4 year Anniversary James!

Hard to believe 4 years ago tonight I was lying in my bed thinking "I am getting married tomorrow". Now I am to awake to sleep because my mind is racing and all I can think about is how much has changed in 4 years. When we started out as a young married couple, James 20 and me only 19, I don’t think we fully understood what all we would accomplish together. Sure, we had dreams and goals but so does every young married couple. We wanted to finish university, get jobs in our specialized fields, have children, buy a home... but look where we are now. Some of the things we deemed important have changed, our outlook on life has been modified, but our values and beliefs have remained the same.

We both decided that University - as great as it is for some - was just not where we needed to be and we decided to pursue careers in the areas we were passionate about. For me that meant following in my grandmother's footsteps and becoming a Realtor - Helping people find the houses they love and assisting others in selling a place where memories lie. For James it meant opening his own consturction and home building business, being able to build a home he was proud of for our clients. God gave us similar passions and we are very blessed to be able to work together and value what the other person brings to our family company. 4 years ago our company was not something we even imagined, today it is something we both are proud of.

Four years ago we were not thinking of having children anytime soon. Today we have a beautiful 10 month old daughter who is the light of our lives. Her determination in learning new things comes from her Daddy while her firey attitude and short patience unfortunately comes from her Mommy, her beautiful features come from both although most people say she is a spitting image of James. The responsibilities that come with parenthood are sometimes trying but always rewarding and neither of us would trade it for the world. We both value family and know that we want many children because children are our hope for the future. They are the pride of their parents and we can not wait for our family to grow.

My husband has big goals and even larger dreams and I honestly believe that he will reach every one he sets in his life. He accomplishes everything he sets his mind to, I don't think there is something he can't do. His determination in accomplishing everything he starts allows his dreams to become reality. The love he has for his daughter is unconditional and heart melting - Sommer has grabbed hold of her Daddy's heart strings, the bond they are creating is unbreakable. He is a great provider for our family and works very hard to allow me the opportunity to work part time so I can spend quality time with our daughter. The sacrifices he makes do not go unnoticed, each day I am reminded how how much he loves us.

4 years ago I married my best friend and set out on a journey together. Today we are continuing on that journey - joined by a daughter and dog - excited to see what God has planed for us in the years to come!

I am a superior housewife!

I am VERY surprised that I scored Superior on a 1930's houswife test! Seriously?? To be honest I dont think I am a superior housewife. I HATE cooking so much... it's honestly something I dread doing. If I had lots of money I would hire a chef to come and cook supper every night. I can do breakfast (Fruitloops work for me!) and lunch (Mac n' cheese is great) but for supper I will stare in my pantry and see nothing that works. Last week I cooked 3 meals for us and this week I have cooked 1... dont even ask me what's for supper tonight. My mom is always on my case to get me to cook, she is a good cook and always had supper on the table - where did I go wrong???

As for cleaning, that is something I can do no problem. I love to organize and straighten my house. I heard that the state your home is in can say a lot about a person and I believe that. Decor is important to me and I love it when my house looks good. Now, I am not saying that my house is always clean because it's not. But I do like it when it is... I always feel so good when it is straightened. That doesnt mean I dust and scrub my floors - oh no - it just means that everything is "tidy" not spotless.

Laundry is my constant tug-a-war... I dont mind doing the laundry but I HATE putting laundry away. I wish I was Kate Gosselin from Jon & Kate Plus 8. She does the laundry and then has someone come and fold it and someone else puts it away. Now I dont have 8 kids but still, if someone would come and put my laundry away my life would be grand! There are times where we have lived out of the laundry basket for weeks and weeks... it's not that hard to put away!

I am a good mom I would say, I love taking care of my child. I like to take care of my husband but I also thinks he takes care of me. Sommer is my responsibility, I am the mom in the house. I make sure she has stuff to eat and milk to drink, she always has clean clothes to wear. If she is up in the night then I get up with her and I also put her down to bed every night. James helps out by changing her diapers or feeding her food and he is a great help. He never complains when I ask him to do something and does so willingly. I don't expect James to get up with Sommer in the night because he has to work the next day and needs his sleep - I stay home and therefore can handle the night time needs. I put Sommer to bed every night and that is our bonding time. I rock her to sleep in the chair and give her a bottle, it's something I don't want to give up. James can put her to bed if I am not home and she will go down for babysitters too, but bedtime is my special time and usually I miss it if we dont have it. Luckily I have a great husband who loves his daughter too, parenting is a shared role in our family but I think that I oversee the department.

Well, I better get back to my housewife duties! I guess packing falls under this cateogory today...

A rest from packing!

I hate packing!! But Im also cheap and will not pay for movers so I have to suck it up! Yesterday I took Sommer over to the babysitters so I could have a full afternoon of packing. My grandma and I packed up all the home deco stuff, the living room (minus the furniture), the hall closet, the main bathroom, and the guest room! Now I just have to do Sommer's room, the master bedroom and bath, and the kitchen! Ugh, the kitchen... I dont even want to think of how much work that will be!! I honestly didnt realize how much junk I had laying around the house, in drawers and in closets... stuff that I have never seen before! We will be making plenty of trips to the bins to through a lot of garbage! Last night my grandparents watched Sommer while James and I tackled the dreaded storgae/furnace room which has been the room where we put stuff that we dont know what to do with... it's all cleaned out and everything is stacked in the back entrance. Now to tackle the garage...

Our house is being painted this week and then all we have is flooring, baseboards and final fixtures!! Oh and the Kitchen cabinets but those only take a day. I am excited to go over and see the paint that I picked out spur of the moment... actually I am nervous but James said it looks fine.

Well I should get packing while Sommer naps. Have a good day!

Sommer LOVED her little splash pool that we got her! She had her toys in there, apple juice, no shirt on - life was grand!

Swinging at the campground play area!
We had so much fun on our Trademark Weekend.
While the boys went golfing Auntie Sheena and I took Sommer to the park!

Someone loves the swings!

Sommer also loved the slide!

At the bottom thinking - can we do that again!??!

Thanks for coming mom and dad!

My mom and dad left this morning at 5:20 am back to Portland. We were very lucky to have them here with us for a week and now my house is so quiet. Sommer got very spoiled with her grandparents. My mom taught her how to give high fives, we worked on sign language (she knows "more", "all done", "hi", and "bye"), went to the lake, and out for supper to Regina Beach. I love it when my parents come to visit us here in Regina, it's nice to show them what we have been up to and where we spend our time. Unfortunately our new house wasn't complete but they got a great idea of what it looks like since it is at the painting stage. Next time they come they will have their own suite downstairs so they don't have to shower amoung Sommer's bath toys and sleep in the room beside her. They spoil Sommer so much but it can only be expected when their granddaughter is so cute! My sister is coming to visit in a month (Sept. 10-16) so I am aiming for then for our house to be done.

Jeremy and Sheena have moved out of the basement so we have the house to ourselves. It makes me less stressed to think that half the house is ready to move since there is nothing in the basement that has to be taken care of. Now if I can get the upstairs packed I will be off to the races. I took down the pictures in the living room and kicthen/dining room today so my walls are starting to look bare. I hate packing so much but my mom told me that it is going to take a while to get this house in boxes. I can only imagine how long it will take me while having to entertain Sommer!! Luckily she can go to daycare when I need to pack so I will have to power pack during those times. Yesterday my mom and I cleaned out all the closets and put unused stuff into bags for the Diabetes Foundation Clothing Bins. I took 4 industrial garbage bags full of old clothes ovr to the bins so my closet will be much easier to pack now.

I should get some packing in now that Sommer is napping. Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with my life!

Melissa

Allergies and what not!

Man, I hate allergies! I had never had them before I got pregnant but last summer was my first experience. Now this summer they have returned... and it seems that Sommer is suffering from them as well. While James and I can take Aerius or Claratin poor Sommer is suffering with only a vicks humidifier and many warm baths. Poor baby!

Sommer is crawling around now and has 2 teeth. She just turned 9 months last Friday. My baby is getting so big!! Her crawl is hilarious, haha, with one leg in the crawl position and the other in a bear crawl... the bear crawl leg pushes off... too cute! Ill have to get it on video and post it here for you! to watch. Each day is an adventure with her and she is always doing new stuff.

Our new house is ALMOST ready! Currently we are at the trimming stage so my brother in law Sammy is busy doing his job! He is a wonderful trim carpenter and does really good work. He lives here in Regina so we spend a lot of time together. Most times he showes up at our house around supper time and "claims" he didnt realize what time it was, oh well, someone needs to watch out for him. He is exactly (almost to the day) one year older than my little brother and since my bro lives in the U.S. I enjoy having Sammy around to spoil.

My parents are coming this week!! I am sooo excited! Once again they were coming to see our house which once again will not be finished. They are bringing me my new vehicle (2005 Pathfinder LE) which I am also looking forward to having here. While Mom and Dad are here we are going to my great grandma's 96th birthday party, to the lake for the weekend and out to Regina Beach for Fish & Chips. What I am probably most looking forward to is having them stay WITH us. The last 2 times they have come to visit we have not had an extra bedroom for them but since we put the house on the market we turned the office back into a guest room. Now they are officially coming to visit us and even get to host them!

Well I should run here! Just wanted to check in and let you know what we have been up to! Have a great end of July!

Family Photos in Orlando!

The Boda Clan! Celebration in Orlando, Florida!

Grandma & Grandpa with their grandchildren & great grand-daughter

4th Generation Picture!

The Williams Family!

The McCullough Family