We woke up to a gorgeous blanket of snow over all of the trees, just breathtakingly beautiful and so serene feeling.
Gorgeous winter day.
First Snowfall of Winter 2012-2013 | Mount Forest
We woke up to a blanket of freshly fallen snow, which has continued to fall for most of the day! I’m not a cold loving person, but snow I am. If it’s here to stay great, I always feel cozy in the winter with a blanket of snow!
The kids are excited for Santa – first though, tomorrow is to take unwrapped gifts to the Patriots game at 2pm for our local Winter Wishes program to benefit kids in our area who are in need! Please give.
If I had more time I would have captured more beauty of Mount Forest, however that will be for another day!
Little man and his love of hockey | My little boy
I love my little man, he has the most awesome combination of his dad and I and loves hockey! I grew up with brothers who played hockey and I loved going to their games and cheering them on. I am thrilled our son was interested in hockey and being his 2nd year is enjoying it even more :)
Its so funny to watch these boys and girls play. Our boy loves to go to the Patriots Jr C Hockey Games http://www.mountforestpatriots.com and at times watches the big boys too much ;) How they come out and warm up skating around the net hehe! It’s also quite obvious who the photographers child is as he skates by waving big ;) Yes I’m proud!
Now… The pics!
He LOVED the face off!
The boy loves to have “his” audience lol!
If you also love hockey… Our lil man’s team is playing during the Mount Forest Jr C Patriots 1st intermission this Sunday November 25th!!! Come on out and cheer on the big and little boys :)
What do I want my kids to remember me as a mom… | Family life & growing up
A blog that I follow had a very interesting post today that of course being a mom, caught my eye.
Check out the post here living today on purpose {and free from mommy-guilt}
What do I want my kids to remember about me as a mom?
I want my kids to know that I am proud of them – no matter what, that they are the world to me, that our life and house is not perfect and does not need to be, that I take time to be with them, to hear them, to do things with them, to do things as a family. That I love their daddy, my husband, and mommy daddy time is also important. I want them to know that they can be whatever they want to be, that they have my support. I want them to know how important it is to have fun and laugh. Mommy isn’t perfect, daddy isn’t either, we don’t expect them to be – but to us they are, no matter what. Most important of course is that, this is the family I have always wanted and I cherish each moment I have with them.
I think of this much deeper than just how I want my kids to remember me, I am SO thankful to have my parents as their Grama and Granpa in our lives, to be as close as we are with them. For my kids to have a relationship with their Grandad Zmija. However they will only ever know their Grandma Zmija through photos and the stories we tell. But what if, what if something did happen to me.
How important it is to take photos. How incredibly important it is to take photos WITH my kids. I don’t just want my kids to remember me as a mom, I want them to have photos to remember AND treasure of me with them. To be able to show their kids, just like we do with ours, growing up with their parents. Being a photographer most times I am behind the camera, I am so thankful that over the past couple years I have been getting myself in front of the camera to capture more moments WITH my kids, not just of what my kids are doing.
Life goes fast, but memories do not have to.
How do you live purposefully as a mom in our very busy, loud world?
What practical choice can you make today to purposefully love those He has in your life?
As a full time working mom, time with my kids and keeping myself sane is very important. Life gets busy, especially with being involved in a family business, kids in sports, various other committments, many days can go by where we do not have a “typical” after school/work day/evening. As much as it would be incredible to have a completely organized home, this is where with 2 kids, a dog and working parents where at this point in our family life, I have accepted that it just isn’t in the cards and that is ok! As long as our kids are happy, healthy, clothed and fed, their needs have been met. They do not need all the latest toys or even to go to every major event or attraction. What they truly need at their ages and stage in their life is what they do have, most of all time & attention from their parents, their family.
I am thankful our kids have the relationship they do not only with their mom & dad, also their grandparents. I know if my dear mother in law was here today she would be having so much fun with them… I also know she watches over and giggles when she sees things our kids do, which their daddy did many years ago ;)
Parents can set the example by just being themselves rather than trying to be perfect. As a parent, I found it most helpful to remember the larger picture: that I really did love the kids … everything does not have to be perfect in order to be effective. — Mister Rogers
Mommy & Me | Mommy Daughter Moments
I love any time I get with my kids, it’s these moments alone with each of them that are a true diamond in the rough…
A time when a couple weeks ago my daughter and I could just chilax together and talk about anything from our family to Barbies, princesses, fairy tales and snuggle in mommy + daddy’s bed watching a movie!
Love this week princess and our fabulous relaxing evening we had together.
Moments like this that can last a lifetime, memories, treasured moments, just being girls!
I am so blessed. So very blessed, with not just my gorgeous wee daughter, but our gorgeous, smart children which my husband and I created, our family with my husband and our two children. LOVE capturing moments like these! Forever
Accepted As A Smiling Eyes Photographer | Smiling Eyes ~ Helping to make the journey a little less difficult
I am SO very excited to annouce that I have been accepted to the Smiling Eyes Team of Photographers!!! I became more familiar with this when our cousins daughter began her fight with Cancer.
Cancer runs on both sides of our family, its touched many of our loved ones. It also goes beyond Cancer, it is about the person who is trapped by this deadly disease.
I am extremely proud to be a part of the team. The website is being updated and as I *just* received word of this, once I get them all my info it will be up on the website as well. So if you know anyone in our area who would be very deserving of this please contact through the Smiling Eyes website!
My photography has always been very family focused, from newborns, children and family sessions. I am honored to be able to offer this as a part of the Smiling Eyes team, thank you! It is in a way bringing my photography full circle for me. I adore shooting brand new newborns, a brand new family, watching children as they grow and capturing the family over the years. This for me is huge, my way of giving back to such a horrible disease by being able to do “something”.
From the website… http://smilingeyes.ca/about/
Smiling Eyes ~ Helping to make the journey a little less difficult
Smiling Eyes is a non-profit, volunteer based organization of photographers and other professionals from all over Canada, who have come together to form a guild dedicated to helping people/families facing the fight with cancer.
We Believe In MEERAcles… || 3 year old & Cancer (SUCKS)
Today is the day her parents and family has been awaiting and dreading… Miss Princess Meera is having surgery to rid her body of Cancer. The only way to do this is by removing part of her face :(
I am THRILLED with the response we have gotten from family to pledge Jaz to participate in Movember in honour of Meera – THANK YOU! There is still lots of time to still pledge him or just simply donate. All money raised is going directly to Meera and her needs.
You can help out via two options…
1. Online at http://www.indiegogo.com/Meeracles – which is also where you can read more about her. Or you can donate at any TD Bank with the following info…
2. Trust Fund for Meera in existence since last year. Donations can be made directly at any TD Canada Trust to transit # 2984 Acct# 6242682. E-transfers/payments can be made by notifying meerasgnan@hotmail.com 100% of the donations go to the Porter family.
As a mother, my stomach has been in knots all day knowing what not only Meera would have to go through, but her parents and just how hard it will be for them. As a wife and mother no matter how hard a day I have ever had, none of them amount to this, not even close. Everyday my own health issues remind me how lucky I am to have had Children of my own, thinking of Miss Meera I cannot even put into words how thankful and appreciative I am for my children’s health.
Cancer does not choose who it is going to affect. Its affected both sides of mine and my husband’s family, I HATE that its affected someone this young and so viciously. No child should have to suffer like Meera has.
Today she is having life altering surgery, I pray that this will end her battle with Cancer and she will continue on as a very strong willed happy girl, regardless of how this will change her physically. In her short years she has been through too much, its time to let her be a kid and live life hospital free!!!
Sending you many prayers and postive thoughts from the McLellan & Zmija Family :)
Krista Jefferson of Edison Photography has been documenting Meera’s journey with some gorgeous photos – she kindly created this image and provided it for family and friends… Just beautiful!
***Update recently from her Mama on Facebook… surgery went well and is taking more time to essentially put her back together with skin grafts and stitches, shenwill be puffy and look similar to someone with a cleft palate. ***
Life lessons can be very hard… especially on the mama!
Our close family and friends know of certain struggles we’ve been having with our wee princess. Shes a very smart, gorgeous, stubborn, creative girl… perhaps I should place more emphasis on the STUBBORN part. (Would be great if I could say she gets that from her dad lol ;) ) .
Tonight was an evening of life lessons for the girl, who I will give her credit, she is persistent, very strong willed and knows what she wants, I do admire this in her as I am, admittedly the one she most likely does get it from, however as a small child it can be very very tough, quite honestly I think tougher on mom than child.
A couple of trying hours for both me and her, ended in great success. Be all, end all, nope this is the beginning, however it ended fabulous. From how I felt earlier this evening to feeling now – well she did say it right when I said “Ok its time for bed…” and her response to me “No its drink time” I had to chuckle because thats exactly what I was thinking… but a drink for ME and not HER! LOL and Im not talking water like she was ;)
Yes Patience is a virtue… as I reminded myself over and over. Especially as I reminded her of good choices and bad choices – in our great attempt to help alleviate some of her stubborn issues… I have to laugh at myself at times as I am repeating things to the kids reminding them that…
Both the good and bad choices that they may choose to make will have consequences, so whichever choice they make they must be able to be responsible to accept and deal with the negative consequence, if that is the outcome… regardless of what it may be or what may happen, its a choice, and its theirs.
Whats sad is that alot of adults don’t even understand this concept and here I am teaching my 4 1/2 and 6 yr olds… who grasp it quite well, but just needs reminding – sometimes to the point of feeling like a tape recorder… but alas it does work AND they are very happy children when they get to relish in the fact that THEY made the choice with a POSITIVE responsible outcome!!!
Of course at the end of the day, as I read them a book and tucked them into bed, I am again reminded to take a couple extra moments with them, that it was ok that I had to take a “mommy time out” earlier, because it helps me to be the best mommy I can be, especially when regardless of whatever struggles I may face with them, nothing is as complex and heart wrenching as what my husband’s cousin and her family are facing on a daily basis. That in itself gives me all the more reason in the world for my children, who truly are my life!
Cannot post without some photos… ;) From the other night when my wonderful sister came to enjoy dinner – oops cook dinner for us LOL (yes we are SO lucky!) and we had game night after! The miss played for a bit with me, then actually got tired and went downstairs for quiet time on her own… yes heart warming mommy moment right there <3
Movember Pledges… for Miss MEERA! We believe in MEERAcles! <3
A happy, beautiful 3 year old girl should be thinking of what dress she will wear, candy, playing barbies, running in the park, colouring – all without a care in the world.
Unfortunately for Meera, things are different. She is a very beautiful, smart, happy girl… with Cancer. Cancer that she DID beat, has now come back. She has a very rare form of childhood cancer. In Meera’s mommy’s words from their pledge site…
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This campaign is to offset costs incurred to the family of Meera Porter due to cancer and a very invasive surgery needed on her face to remove all affected areas in order to save her life.
August 2011, at only 22 months old Meera was diagnosed with an VERY agressive type of cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, right on her face. It grew so rapidly within weeks it went from just under her left nostril to up along the side of her nose towards her eye. She then started 40 weeks of chemotherapy and endured severe burns from 28 radiations on her face. We were told that any areas affected by radiation will not grow and would require surgery when she grew older. That was something we were ‘ok’ with. We were also told that if it came back, there was nothing they could do. That was something we were not ok with. In June 2012 Meera completed chemotherapy and the family was under the impression the cancer was gone.
Just before she was scheduled to have her port and gtube (feeding tube) removed, not even a week before my maternity leave was over, which meant I was about to return to work, I discovered a lump on her nose, again. Dr’s believed it was scar tissue but took our concerns seriously and ran tests like imaging and another biposy and found it indeed came back. Another surgery was performed less then two weeks later to remove as much of a clear margin as possible. We had the decision to either use the study chemotherapy drugs or the standard. They were prepared to choose the study, until the Dr’s most recently have told them they have a hope of beating this by basically removing her face. They have to go back and refrence the scans from original diagnosis and remove all the areas affected by this. And the family would no longer have the oppurtunity to choose the study chemo, Meera would need to use the standard. As long as her next set if scans continue to come back negitive for any metastasis this surgery is an option to save her life, even if she wont look like our beautiful princess anymore.
This means supplies not covered like feeding bags to feed her though her gtube again, and replacement gtube buttons and adapters syringes will be out of the families pocket, this doesnt even include loss of wages from not being able to work as we are so stressed we cant even work. These decisions have never been easy for us, and need your support emotionally and financially.
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We were at a family wedding just a week ago and this sweet little girl, who walked up to me and grabbed my hand and ever so quietly, but so sweet says “come…”. Although she is family, my husband has a big family and we haven’t seen them, thankful for pictures on Facebook!
So… as many of you know Jaz joined into the Movember fun this year! Even though he typically does have a goatee he shaved off clean on November 1st – a first in 12 years!!!
Knights of Princess Meera Movember was created … by a group of college guys! How awesome is this! They posted the group yesterday and already there is over 200 members and its still growing!!!
Without a doubt… Jaz IS participating so we are asking our family and friends to please pledge him for this wonderful cause! You can pledge him in person (we have pledge forms) or you can pledge and donate online – very simple…
http://www.indiegogo.com/Meeracles?c=home
Any amount you could give will help. We will of course be giving our own pledge/donation at the end of Movember for this beauty! If you do not feel comfortable paying a donation/pledge online with your credit card, however would like to pledge Jaz to help out Meera please mail us a cheque to PO Box 358 Mount Forest, ON N0G 2L0. We will deposit the money and then pay it online to the plege site.
I also spent yesterday decluttering in a very large way in our kids rooms and added to the huge pile of clothing to take to our local consignment store (clothing from both our kids and both my husband and I) Stumbled Upon… this consignment store takes your clothing and sells it, paying you a % of the sale. I am going to donate 100% of these proceeds to Meera!!! Feels so very good :)
At this moment, the only option for Meera is surgery, which will include removing parts of her face – drastically changing her appearance. This is not only going to be hard for Meera, but her family as well, including her baby sister who just turned 1. She will require plastic surgery to help reconstruct her face.
Meera you are loved by SO many!
Cancer has touched (and taken) so many of our loved ones… just 2 months before our wedding my mother in law lost her fight to Cancer :( When I was young I remember visiting my granpa in the hospital, travelling to Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving and sharing Christmas together in my grandparents bedroom while he was sick and in bed … Please help us do what we can to help Princess Meera!
Decluttering and Organizing is the BEST feeling… even the kids love it!
I don’t know about anyone else but I LOVE the feeling an organized/decluttered home/space :) Our kids do too… Actually they thrive in a very organized space.
I began their space a couple, no few weeks ago, and then much like any other time life got in the way. This weekend we had NO plans – well ok today we had no plans and last night we didn’t either so it meant we could go to bed early. Such a productive day, awesomely productive lol. Hubby worked on his man space downstairs in the work room to create his wine making area (yes we, ok he, makes wine at home and it is delish!!!). I tackled the kids rooms and downstairs hallway. We have a very wide hallway downstairs so it seems to be a great landing area for “stuff”!
A great place to play hockey!
And new-found favorite toy (yes she is my mini-me)
Loving their organized spaces and easy to find toys :)
Next for the kiddos is getting more art work – custom art work, up on their walls. Before or after the paint, not sure ;) they’re both very excited to choose their own colour – colours actually lol!
Next for decluttering… ahhhh the dreaded collect-all in the office/spare bedroom.
