Go East young man...and family...

It was done in typical Garrett fashion, booked a mere month before departure. Mrs. Vaunda had a cancellation and was letting our 5 rent her oceanfront cottage for the week... And oh what a cottage it was. 

It occurred to me on approximately the 19th hour 'ol Bess had been driving, that there was a slight chance I had done something rash by booking a pricey cottage so last minute and putting down a deposit when only having seen website photos

...the fear caught up with me as we saw the little road sign at the end of the red dirt lane....what had I done? 

We pulled over the hill and upon first glance i hoped upon hopes that ours was the one at the base of the steep hill, that was almost licking the ocean....

Vaunda gave us the quick tour and in a easy eastern accent she said 'if ya's need a thing I'm up the hill, in the white cottage' and she was gone. I think she could tell by our faces that we were in dire need of some R&R after some 20 hours of driving.  One of the first things we did after we chucked the suitcases into the cottage was race down the stairs to see what wonder beheld us at the ocean shore.

 

The children took to calling me 'crabadile Dundee' by the end of the week, I just couldn't get enough of those little bubbly faced cuties. There's something to be said about being on the ocean shore, if it weren't for the crazy tides, we'd have spent the entire waking hours down there. I've been far blessed with this land lovers paradise of 50 rolling acres, but those at the coast have a whole different playground to enjoy...and enjoy it we did. 

There was a bit of land based entertainment to be had as well, our favourite being the ceilidh ... An east coast music experience that is busting with authenticity and people who really love to entertain. 

Even the kids agreed this was one of the major highlights of our trip :) 

We also did the expected as tourists, and attended a matinee of the 'Anne of Green Gables' musical, that has been running for over 50 years ...

We also toured the factory of the best ice cream in all of Canada! COWS dairy, Mmm. The workers there work for 2 months straight in the ice cream factory, concocting delicious tubs of ice cream loaded with extras like cookies, chocolate bars and sauces and once they've reached their quota of the good stuff for the year (based on previous years sales) ... They return to their previous job of ...shucking oysters! Who'd a thunk! 

Feel free to comment on the utter dorky-ness of my hat as opposed to my family members...I won't forgive them for not telling me. 

This is our darling daughter Gabe, who is posing with the Tim hortons card his friend told him to take with him and get pictures, holding it in various PEI locations :) ... This ones for you Kaden! 

Oh, and this one... 

And one more :) 

We also visited the homestead of Anne, Marilla, and Matthew....what a hopping place that was, everybody and their brother was there. Here I am a-posing as Le-Anne of Green Gables...tee hee. My husband is the stellar photographer with the big thumb ;) 

And this here is Anne's bedroom! ....you kind of have to go with an open mind, as neither the home nor the musical are exactly like the movie (which set a wonderful and high standard in my opinion...Anne's voice in the musical is so far from Meghan Follows' voice that it's a little surprising at first...) 

We even did the 'haunted woods' trail, thankfully there were no ankle twisting graves freshly dug...and no creepy fog either ;) ....( But I do spy another gratuitous timmies plug for Kadens sake...) 

I think you get the idea that we had copious amounts of fun...so I'll wrap up for now with a quote from Lucy Maud herself...and I can now say I understand exactly where she's coming from :) 

Moments...

God, in His all knowing ways, gives me moments each day where the regular world slows to a crawl, the movements creep along, my focus is razor sharp and all else fades...if only for a minute. These moments are those that will remain, I hope, long after alzheimers strikes.

The moment: making cupcakes without help.

She stood beside the sink, red hair all aglow in the island lights. She was taking her time filling the measuring cup to brimming with water, all the while tip toeing her feet in place to the classical music spilling from the kitchen radio tuned to CBC. She slowly walked to the bowl, water splashing onto the counter. I said nothing, choosing to enjoy watching her rather than reprimanding her to bring the bowl closer. It won't be long before she gets it...when she knows to put the bowl beside the sink and pour the water right in, instead of walking all the way to the other side of the island to pour it out. I stood and enjoyed the great deal of concentration that played on her face, struggling to tame the sloshing, while her feet still wanted to dance...she hasn't lost that innocence yet...the world is still delightful and hers for the taking.

Sun for 2 days..

And what a beautiful 2 days they were. Seems as though spring has come and gone in these parts,  today it's 15 cm of the white stuff and some crazy wind. Both yesterday and the day before, the kids dug out their bikes and we went for a stroll to the end of the road and back....it was soooo wonderful!

So far March break has been pretty quiet and just a wonderfully mundane week of regular ol' life. We'll be enjoying a day in beamsville on Friday to visit cousins and aunts and thankfully the weather is looking like it'll be in the positives again!

Here's one from a couple years ago, Wasn't that a beautiful morning shot? 

Eternal weight of Glory

This morning I sit in peace, light slowly rising through the windows and read this,

'So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.' 2 Corinthians 4:16

It's verses like that, that make my heart skip a beat in anticipation...

G'mornin mom and Christin!

My two devoted followers whom have both mentioned its time to blog something new again ;) and so here I sit with my new (woo!) iPad and thought I'd write a little post for y'all.

The children and I have decided it would do us a great deal of good to observe lent this year. For several reasons, the most important of course being the desire to strip all things bare and fully re-focus on Christ. So, seeing as the hubs and I have already given up on sugar, salt, caffeine, and processed foods in general, I decided my observance of lent would not giving up another thing (to be  honest I wasn't sure what else there was!) but instead to make a priority of Christ in my life. Instead of getting up and hopping on my computer..or iPad as the case may be... I would instead pick up the  Word and begin my day with Him. The kids decided to give up tv during the day, so no more netflix during school time...I was thrilled when they decided in this one...yes I could have told them to just  do that, but was thankful when it came from them, their decision.

Do we have a problem with TV during the day, no, but there are times when I'm tired and should say no more than I do...so here we go! Bring in the books ...even more!

Today I read this verse and it'll stick a with me as I go about my day today, maybe for you too!

' For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.' 2 Corinthians 2:15

Budget '14

Here we are back into cold wintry mornings with crisp sunrises. The kind that make your lungs buckle with frosty air.

The hubs and I are giving it a go, again. The zeal of money managing has been stoked and we're off and running with the budget of 2014. We've a clear direction now, thanks to many wonderful blogs I read that help to gently pluck those budgeting heartstrings. Yes, I have budgeting heartstrings...they lie next to my shopaholic strings...it's a dangerous place in my heart...there's a constant orchestra being conducted and it's either playing one tune or the other.

In keeping with a Dave Ramsey style cash budget for the past 8 or so years, we've done a great deal of good. We're moving up in our baby steps (for those of you who aren't familiar with Mr Ramsey...please google. His baby steps are your key to financial freedom.)

Looking forward to a few baby steps being crossed off this year...yahoo!

Here's a link to a blogger whom I very much admire, she's real and funny and she and her husband love the Lord. It's Stacy from Stacy makes Cents. http://www.stacymakescents.com/10-reasons-youre-broke  there's a link to one of her husbands articles.

Anywho, off to feed the babes! chat soon!

Reasons..

It's for reasons like these that we don't do the door knocking, treat taking tradition. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/30/for-some-wiccans-halloween-is-a-real-witch/?hpt=hp_c2

But hey, to each his own, and if you do go out, hope everyone can stay dry tonight!!