Happy New Year

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy New Year.  Thank you for following along in my life this past year, your posts and well wishes have been appreciated.

Have a safe New Years and all the best to you and yours in 2008!

Happy Monday

Thankful

A few things I am thankful for...

• a very happy and busy Christmas season



• my husband, who was able to get some much needed time off over the holidays



• our families who make me feel very blessed



• that my cats did not destroy the house while we were away over the holidays



• another week of holidays so I can clean and organize and with any luck scrapbook



• this baby growing inside of me...I get more excited everyday to meet him or her

A few of my favorite moments from Christmas. 

My niece trying to show off some of the things she got for Christmas...what a ham!

The Messy Hair Trio

Lincoln and his new hat

Murray and his new camo coveralls

Me and the baby Christmas morning (25 weeks pregnant)

Katie riding Blue

The Terry Buchan Clan altogether

Happy Friday!

Feeling...?

Can't really describe my mood these days except maybe...grumpy.  No real reason I can think of really just grumpy...hormones maybe...who knows.  I should be in a better mood.  School is finishing up, its almost Christmas my favorite time of year, and Micheal and Katie fly in tomorrow.  But I am grumpy.  But instead of focusing on that I will share some other things.

Baby Update:  Last week was the first time Murray was able to feel the baby move.  I really enjoyed Murray's excitement over this.  Since then the baby has been kicking lots, my midwife keeps saying it is a 'very active baby'  I can't decide if that is a good or bad thing.

A funny picture of Felix on Murray's lap taken a few days ago.  I don't know why but he loves to sit like this.  Crazy cat!

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Grandma G

Yesterday Murray's family all got together to celebrate his Grandma's 95th birthday.  95 years!  Let me tell you that Murray's Grandma is an amazing person, she may be 95, but she can remember all the people in her family and the details of everyones life, even her great-great grandchildren.  I really admire her because whenever you see her or talk with her she has a way to make you feel special and loved no matter who you are.  Murray's Mom did such a wonderful job organizing the party with Murray's Aunt and it was a great afternoon!

Okay, so when you get this many people in a picture its hard to get one where everyone is looking (and making a nice face) but you get the idea.

Happy Monday!

Something to share

I just received some candid wedding pictures from Kelly and Rene's wedding yesterday.  As I was looking through them I came across this one.  I love this picture!  The picture really captures how fun that day was for me.  Looking back now, we had just conceived our baby but had no idea that we were pregnant when this picture was taken.  Definitely one for the scrapbook.

Just wanted to share.

December 1st

There are a few reasons why I love December 1st.

1. It means November has come and gone and so has hunting season.  Which means I can look forward to spending weekends with my husband again. (Although I was fortunate to get him to come to Jasper with me this year).
2. It is the official kick off day to the holiday season (for me).  I put up the tree, play Christmas carols the whole nine yards.
3.  Usually its the day I aim to have my Christmas cards out and my shopping complete and I am really close this year.  I just like to get that stuff out of the way so I can enjoy all the other fun things in December.

Oh and another great thing this year...we have a new nephew who came November 30th.

Lincoln Jase Porter
9lbs 13oz
21" long

Happy December 1st to all!

Halfway There...

Just over 20 weeks.  Thought I would share a belly picture.

Not too much else going on.  We are continuing to try to finish up the trim in the basement.  Why is trim the hardest part?  We are so close to being done, it just seems like as soon as the basement became livable we stopped working.  The goal is to finish by Christmas.  I will try to post before and after pictures then.

Off to Superstore early this morning to get some snacks for the Grey Cup.  With Edmonton not in it this year I think I will be forced to cheer for Saskatchewan.

Happy Sunday.

Weekend Getaway

The past few months Murray has been away for work a lot so to celebrate our ten year anniversary we booked a weekend away in Jasper together.  It was so nice to have uninterrupted time together.  It was really a chance to reconnect after spending so much time apart.  And of course the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge was amazing!

We saw a lot of animals as we were driving to Jasper.








This was the view as we walked around the lake.




A big Elk we saw on the walk as well.




A stop at Maligne Canyon on the way home.

Murray is out hunting today and I am watching the kids for Michelle while she finishes up some holiday shopping before the baby arrives.

Happy Monday.

10 years

Thats how long Murray and I have been together as of yesterday.  Sounds like a long time but really it has gone very fast. 

10 years
9 jobs between us
8 limbs???
7 vehicles
6 places we have lived (separate and together)
5 big trips
4 cats
3 car accidents
2 souls
1 amazing journey together (1 new life on the way)

One of our first dates (1997)

Klondikes days (1998)

Murray's Grad (1998)

My Grad (1999)

Christmas (2001)

Our engagement (2002)

Micheal and Katie's Wedding (2005)

Just before we moved into our new house (2006)

There is something so empowering about sharing a life with someone who knows everything about you, all the good and all the bad, and chooses to love you unconditionally anyway.  One of the many things I love about Murray is his unwaivering belief in me, even when I don't believe in myself.  It gives me great strength.

I feel so blessed to share this life with you Murray, and I am proud of our ten years together.  I am looking forward to all the challenges and joy that lay ahead in our future.
Forever and Always,
Jessica

Baby Buchan Update

Yesterday we went for our 18 week ultrasound.  Everything is going really well so far I thought the picture was so cool so I wanted to share.  The baby has really developed lots since the 10 week ultrasound.  Murray affectionately calls it our little alien.

In the picture the baby has its face turned away.  You can see the spine very clearly and the shape of the skull and an ear I think.  During the ultrasound we got to see the baby stretch out its legs and shift a little when I laughed.  Amazing to think that our baby is moving that much and I still can't really feel anything.  Soon enough I guess.

Happy Tuesday.

Happy (Belated) Halloween

I will admit that I am a sucker for this holiday...well most holidays actually.  I get so excited when all the kiddies start to come to our door.  I love to see their costumes, handout candy, and visit with neighbours.  I think Murray would admit that my enthusiasm is catchy.  I can't wait until we have our own little person to take around Trick-or-Treating.

Only 53 more days until Christmas!

Murray's Pumpkin.  He proved you can carve a pumpkin in under 3 minutes (if you choose not to clean out the insides of course)!

Layla and Felix even get into the spirit (they didn't have a choice really).

Have a great weekend.  I will be spending it scrapbooking with friends...yeah!

16 Weeks

This post is for my sister who has been dying to see my 'baby belly'.    Our baby is about 4 1/2 inches long and weighs about 3 ounces (approximately the size of an avocado).   As Murray would say, so far this pregnancy has been 'boring,'  no sickness, no wild cravings, no mood swings (more extreme than regular ones of course).  I told him we still have a long ways to go.

This me at 16 weeks (thanks to Jeanette who took the picture).

A picture of what our 16 week old baby may look like.
Taken from 'Your Pregnancy Week by Week'

Happy Monday

Back From Africa

For the last ten days Murray has been away for work in South Africa, or more specifically Mozambique.  It was difficult for us to be apart but I think the experience was good for him.   All I know is that I am very happy that he is home safe.

The Beach on the resort where Murray stayed

The room Murray slept in.

The equipment Murray traveled all the way to Mozambique to work on.

The whitest man in all of Mozambique!

Local Fishermen.

Women carrying 5 gallon pails of water on their heads. 

Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

Thanks to everyone who kept me company while Murray was away.

Happy Monday.

Love That Lasts

This Friday my Grandparents celebrated 50 years of marriage.   A pretty amazing accomplishment!  They celebrated the occasion by inviting some close friends and family out for brunch on Sunday.  It was nice to see everyone and catch up.
50 years!  I think about how much Murray and I have changed in only 3 years of marriage and then think about how much two people would grow and change together over 50 years and it so amazing that their love has lasted.
Watching them Sunday, you can tell they are still very much in love and it was so refreshing, the kind of thing that renews your faith in God and love.

Happy 50th Anniversary Papa and Gramma, may you have many more happy years together.

Tell someone that you love them today.

One Big Step...

As a newly pregnant person I thought I would try to put off maternity clothes shopping for as long as I could.  Yesterday at work, however, I burst the top button on my dress pants and thought it was time I go shopping at least for some basics.

While in the mall yesterday, I walked past the maternity store 4 times and still could not work up the courage to go inside.  I called Murray on the verge of tears (hormones).  Murray simply said "you're probably not the first girl to cry outside of the maternity clothes store"  and this made me laugh.  So after my little pep talk I decided I had to 'just do it!'  The sales lady was very nice, after asking if she could help me (I must have looked very lost) I simply blurted out "I'm new at this."  She smiled and took me for a tour around the store.  The whole experience really was not that bad, once I got over the initial anxiety of it all.

Has anyone else had mixed emotions going into the maternity clothes store for the first time?

I'm telling you for me that was...One Big Step.

Murray + Jessica = 3

No my math skills are not that bad...we are pregnant!

We are expecting the new addition to our family near the beginning of April and we are both very excited.

The first picture of Baby Buchan

So far I have been feeling pretty good.  Just a little bit more tired than usual and only a little nauseous.  So far the pregnancy is going very well.  I will keep you posted as Baby Buchan develops.

Happy Monday.

Civic Duty

For the second time in a little over a year I have been chosen for jury selection.  The first time I had the excuse of my brother-in-laws wedding and was excused but this time however I didn't really have a good reason why I could not go...so I did.

I waited in a large room with 300 other people, hoping not to be selected.  If selected, the judge said the trail would start the next day and would probably take about 3 weeks.  My reasons for not wanting to sit on the jury were totally selfish.  I didn't want to spend my birthday in court.  Murray and I haven't seen each other much this summer and I did not want to spend another three weeks apart from him.  And I really am looking forward to going back to school and I didn't know how I was going to tell work I would be missing the whole month of September.

Lucky for me, I did not get chosen. 

Actually the whole process was completely random.  Every half-hour or so they called a group of 14 people out of the room and questioned them.  If a juror did not get challenged by either defense or prosecution they were on the jury, if they were challenged, they went home and this went on and on until they had 12 jurors and 2 alternates.  My name was never called, all I had to do was stand up at role call and say 'present' and read my book in an uncomfortable chair for 7 hours.  Not too bad. 

The whole process was rather interesting.

Happy Wednesday!   

Back from Bamfield

The first week of school I went to Vancouver Island with our grade 12 class to Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.  I mostly teach grades 1, 7, 8, and 9.  So the thought of going on a week long trip with 20 grades 12's that I barely knew did give me some anxiety attacks over the summer (grade 12's are very big and intimidating).  But with a little faith and hope I put on a brave face and went anyway (well I didn't really have a choice).

I am happy to report that the trip was so awesome!  Not only was the experience amazing but for me it reaffirmed  why I love teaching.  Students will challenge you, they will push you and test you, but they will also amaze you and delight you in ways you never thought possible.  I truly enjoyed getting to know our grade 12 class a little better and am so inspired by what great people they are.  Once we warmed up to each other we had a great time.

They were 5 really long days, 2 flights and 2 nauseous 6 hour bus rides and I was exhausted when I came home but we did some really cool things and it was an awesome learning experience for our students.  I have a lot of photos but I will only post the ones without students in them for privacy issues.  Enjoy!

Tree stacks on Brady's Beach

The Alta going out to do a sea dredge.

We saw 2 black bears on the shore while we were in a boat thankfully!

Stellar and Californian Sea Lions.

Here are some more.

Mystery Smell...No More!

I have been battling an awful smell in my car since Christmas.  Its like a musty ass smell.  I thought it was the mats so Murray and I took them out but that did not work.  Before my sister came out at Christmas time I was desperate and put a cherry air freshener in to try and cover the smell.  The first thing she said when she got in the car was "it smells like cherry farts in here". Hahaha

In the spring the smell got a little better but it was still there.  Two weeks ago Murray and I finally broke down and splurged for a detail job thinking steam cleaning the inside would help.  Murray drove my car home the next day and said it smelled great...I was so relieved.  When we got back from our camping trip, however, the smell had returned.

Finally, I tried Norwex Sportzyme which has a bioactive formula that is suppost to eliminate organic residue that causes odours.  3 days later the smell is finally gone!  I can't wait to try it on Murray's hockey equipment now.

Moral of the story:

Do not drink Milk To Go's in your car and if you do, do not let them spill on the carpet!  At least I think thats what the smell was?

Gone Fishin'

To send the summer out in style Murray took Friday off of work and we hit the road to do a little camping and fishing.  With no particular destination in mind when we headed out ( different for us we usually plan everything) we ended up near Nordegg.  We did some hiking and some fishing unfortunately with no luck...not even a bite.  But we did have a great time and I was thankful to just get out and enjoy the wilderness with my Murray.

Ram Falls

Fishing at the Elk Creek Fish Pond...still no luck.

Murray obviously sad about not being able to catch any fish.  Next time fish...next time.

Me and My Sister

Murray has been working so much this summer that I decided to book a trip to go and visit my sister in Ontario for a week.  We had a great time.  I was excited to see her new house, where she will go to school in the fall, where she works and genuinely get to know her a little better.  It always amazes me how close we are even though we live 3000 miles apart and only really see each other about twice a year.  Thanks for the great visit Sam.  Love you.

Now that I am home however I have some catching up to do and I have to start thinking about the S word ...you know...SCHOOL!  Noooooooo!  I don't want the summer to end.

Happy Tuesday.