Well I am an auntie again!!

Russell and Beth had a little baby boy, yesterday at 8:35 am. His name is Eli, he weighs 6lbs 12ounces, and is 20.5 inches long. He has the chubbiest cheeks that you just want to squish but the skinniest little legs. He really is a cute little guy. He doesn't really look like either Beth or Russell, but man he is a cutie.

Russell has my camera right now so I am not able to show you any pictures but let me tell you as soon as I get my camera back I will be posting pics of the sweet little guy.

Tomorrow is the big day!!!

Well the day has finally come, we are starting our fertility treatments tomorrow... aggghhhhh..!!! I have been having really mixed feelings about doing this this time, for anyone that may not know the medicine that I am going on helps me ovulate.. great you would think, but you know those families that have the quintuplets? well some of them took the same medicine that I will be taking... Okay, I fainted there for a second.. just kidding but seriously knowing that I could get pregnant with 5 babies at once is really unnerving. Everyone has been teasing us about having 5 babies which I really don't think is very funny, they won't be laughing when they receive a package and it is one of the babies for them to watch until it is out of diapers. :) Wayne and I were talking a while back and I was fretting about getting preggers with 5 babies and Wayne said "Well really, Jackie, what's 5 babies?" (and he was being serious), I started shaking, my usually quiet calm voice ;) turned into a yell and I said/yelled "What's 5, What's 5, are you kidding me, 5.......???" hehe... I know that statistically it is VERY uncommon to have mulitples when on this medicine and if they do happen it's usually twins or triplets, but I am one of those people that the crazy stuff always happens to... being propositioned to be an "escort" in NYC, having to jump on a Ferry to get back into the States as it is pulling away from the dock, etc.etc. , so the thought of getting pregnant with 5 babies isn't that far off.

Now just to add a little note, if we were to get pregnant with that many babies, after the shock wore off I would be very excited and love them all like crazy.. when they were 8... :)

Anyways, so now that the big day has finally come like I said before I was really quite nervous, nervous that we could get pregnant with 3 or more babies, worried that I will be really sick from the medicine that I will be on, worried that I will be SUPER cranky from the medicine(more so than now), but mostly worried that it won't work. I have been praying my little heart out to Heavenly Father pleading for him to make this happen, so tonight while I was reading my scriptures I came across a couple of verses in the Bible that really hit home. You know when you read something in the scriptures and it just feels like Heavenly Father put the words there for you to read right then? Well these verses were for me tonight. It's in Mark Chapter 11 verses 22-23 and I am going to paraphrase them a bit "...Have faith in God.....That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast inot the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart. but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." I know that I definately don't have the faith to move mountains, but I do have faith that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me, he knows that I want another baby more than anything in this world, he knows what my struggles are, he knows that I am scared, but now I know more than ever that I can't doubt him, that I need to put my faith in Him and I know that everything will work out.

So wish us luck... or better yet, offer up a prayer to Heavenly Father for us.... and hopefully the time has come and our faith is strong enough so that we can welcome another special little spirit into our lives.
I love you all.
Jackie

Ode to Wayne

Wayne is such a great guy and I am so in love with him. He is so caring, funny, romantic, stubborn, cute, and just a great guy. Wayne surprises me almost everyday with something that is so sweet. He is such a great father, there is nothing better than to look at Wayne with Nathan, and to feel the love that he has for him. I love watching them play together, read together, even when they watch t.v. together. Wayne is also a wonderful brother, he loves spending time with his brothers and loves to come up with the weirdest sports or makes the funniest trophies for EVERYTHING!!! When Wayne decides to do something he does it 110%. For instance, right now he started a floor hockey league for our old ward. Not only are they playing hockey on Wednesday nights but he has a computer there that they have a scoreboard on, they keep track of the stats and then he made a website and has all the info on there, he has refs, I am surprised that he didn't buy everyone their own jersey...hehe. There are so many more reasons why I love my husband and I am proud that he chose me to be his wife.

I love you Wayne!!!

Spring time fun!!!

On Saturday Karalee, Beth, Iliegh, Nathan and myself went to Kinsmen Park for the afternoon. We had a little "picnic" and then went on the rides that are there. There is a cute little train that follows a little track around part of the park, it was fun until we went into the creepy Alice in Wonderland tunnels. The characters looked like they were going to jump out and bite your neck, they were really creepy but since the kids were there we had to pretend that they were cool. We then went on the ferris wheel, yes Beth even though it is a kid's ride it was still scary. But Beth shouldn't talk cause she kept wanting to "take pictures" but I think she was scared too. :) We went on the merry-go-round and Karalee rode the big "rooster". It's funny to watch Iliegh and Nathan, they were scared but loving it and eventually calmed down and enjoyed the ride. All 3 grandkids went for the second trip on the train and I guess loved it, we don't really know how the Butler baby enjoyed it as it is STILL in Beth's tummy. It started to sprinkle so we decided we should quickly go on the ferris wheel before it rained too hard. We were close to the front of the line when it started to thunder and lightning like crazy around us and they shut the ride down, thank goodness Mommy didn't have to go on that one again. We had icecream in the shelter and Nathan, Iliegh and Beth played in the pouring rain. We had SUCH a fun time and still have some tickets left over so we can go back.

Here's some pictures from our fun day!!
On the Train:


On the ferris wheel:



On the Merry-Go-Round:



3 grandkids & Beth on Train:


Playing in the rain:



Nathan & Iliegh soaking wet:



We had a great time, thanks for inviting us Karalee.

Mommy, I look just like you!!!

These are the words my sweet Nathan said to me as he put the bright red headband on his head. I was busy getting ready in the bathroom this morning and Nathan was there brushing his teeth. I put a black headband on and next thing I know Nathan is pulling out the red one. He wore it around the house for a while and when it was time to go shopping I asked him if he wanted to take it off. Nathan very sweetly said "No Mommy I look pretty just like you." OH MY GOODNESS, how can you resist that, so Nathan wore the red headband all day long. We got some looks and I am sure that people were wondering what the heck I was thinking letting him wear it, but I figure he's 2 and he just wants to look pretty like Mommy. It was cute because he kept looking at my head and seeing if I still had mine on and then he would touch his head to make sure his was on. Someday I will tease him about wearing it, but for now I think it is pretty sweet.

Here's the evidence that Nathan looks pretty like Mommy.


Nathan and his headband.


Sweet kiss

Painting is done

After a week of painting (thanks again Mom) and many sore muscles most of the painting is done. Here are some before pictures:

Upstairs wall between living room and kitchen:


Nathan's Bedroom:


Basement:


Here are some of the after pictures:

Upstairs wall between living room and kitchen:


Nathan's Bedroom: (after a coat of primer, 8 coats of red, and 3 coats of blue, stupid paint)


Basement:


Our bedroom:



So now that the painting is finally done we are able to start unpacking boxes, and getting things put away. But I can't wait till we get to finally start decorating. Right now the walls are so bare and I can't wait to put up our pictures and make it look like our family home.

Once again thanks Mom for helping with everything.

We FINALLY got a house!!! YEAH!!!

So after 6 weeks of searching we finally have got a house. We are SOOO blessed!!! Thanks to all of you that have prayed for us and thought about us this last little while, your prayers and thoughts have worked.

There is a fabulous family here in our ward, Brad and Caylee Low, that were going to let us house sit for them for the summer. We were to move into their house on April 30th, which was going to be cutting it close since we had to turn over this house on May 1st. We were very grateful to the Low's and were going to just have to make due. However, we found a cute little house in Martensville, put in an offer and actually won the bid (for anyone that doesn't know all the houses in Saskatoon are having bidding wars and most are going for anywhere from $20- $60 thousand dollars over the asking price which is high as well). Not only did we get the house but our possession date is April 27th!!!!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!!! :) We are thrilled.

The inside of the house is Great and all we need to do is paint a little bit, and we need to landscape the backyard. Other than these things the house is PERFECT!!!! It has a HUGE yard, I can finally have a big garden, it backs a park that has a great playground, spray park, and a sledding hill in the winter. But the best thing about this house is that we got it and paid in the low part of what we had budgeted, so we will have a house and not be paying much more than what we sold our house for. I am SOOOOOOO happy right now, I seriously feel like this is SUCH an answer to prayers.

If you are ever in the neighbourhood just give us a call and we will be happy to show you around.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!

A lot is going on right now in the Shutra house, we are still looking for a house to buy and/or a house to rent, we will be doing our first fertility treatment in less than a month, and just all the other every day stresses. So we ask that you please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Maybe if we get enough prayers being sent up to Heaven on our behalf maybe Heavenly Father will bless us quicker ;)

Nathan is so loved!!

Yesterday we celebrated Nathan's 2nd birthday. Grandma & Grandpa B., Karalee, Iliegh, Russell, Beth, Jen & Mark & Liam Parolin, Carla & Brian & Decie Deschamps, and Mommy and Daddy (Uncle Darryl came later) were all there to celebrate this special day with Nathan. We ate hotdogs, chips, and veggies then had icecream cake, and finally we opened the presents. From the very beginning Nathan kept asking me if he could open his presents and mean mommy kept telling him to just wait.

When it was time for the cake I lit 2 candles and brought the cake out, Nathan blew them out like a champ, so we decided to do it again so all the kids could blow them out. So we lit the candles again and started to sing Happy Birthday again. Liam and Nathan were right by the cake, and Liam decided that it was time to start blowing but Nathan was in his way so he pushed his way in closer to the cake so he would have perfect blowing opportunity. Well Nathan was not impressed, he gave Liam the most disgusted look and then pushed him out of the way and stood in front of him. The 2 boys kept trying to get at the cake and finally the song ended and the candles were blown out and the fight was over. It was SOOO funny.

Nathan got tons of presents. He got an art easle from Carla &Brian & Decie, Flushed Away(the movie) from Karalee and Iliegh, a bow and arrow & a blow up frog/monkey from Russell & Beth, a leap frog movie(which is very cool) some colorful paper & some cool Noah's Ark foam stickers from Jen &Mark & Liam, some little tonka trucks from Lisa & Steven, a coloring book & flash cards & Peter Pan(the movie) & sand toys from Mommy & Daddy, a t-ball set from Grandma B. But the most loved gift was a tiny little ball glove from Grandpa Butler. It is SOOO cute, it is a Rawlings ball glove and it is small enough to fit NAthan and Beth's hand. We know it is Nathan's favorite because he was running around with it and bumped hard into Liam. They both fell to the ground crying, but all Nathan was worried about was his glove, it was sweet. Grandpa was pretty proud.

Anyways, it was a fun day, and it is sooo nice that Nathan is so loved. He is a very lucky little boy, and Wayne and I are very lucky to have so many good friendsand family that help and support us in this adventure in parenting. We love you all!!!

Our house is conditionally sold!!!

Well we listed our house Thursday morning like planned and closed on Saturday night, we had about 11 people come and look at the house and unfortunately only got 1 offer on the house which was a little dissapointing. However, the offer we got was for more than what we were asking and she didn't have any conditions other than a home inspection so we are super happy!!!! On Friday, all our conditions are off and the house is officially sold and then the mad hunt for a new house will really begin. We have set in the contract that she can have possesion on May 1st which only gives us 6 weeks to find a house, or we will be renting for a while, which we had planned to do anyways.

It is so bitter-sweet to be leaving this house, because it was our first house and there are SOOO many memories here. But it is very exciting because we get to start a new adventure in a new house soon.

Anyways, I best be off as I have TONS of work to do and hopefully we will find a house soon.

We are listing!!!

The housing market in Saskatoon is out of control, bidding wars are happening on almost every house, houses are going for $10,000-$40,000 more than asking price, and Wayne and I have decided to join in on the fun. We have decided to list our house and it goes on the market on Thursday.... AHHHH!!! It is SOOO exciting but so scary.

This is the first house that we have ever sold and man there is SOOOO much work that goes into getting a house ready for sale. Not only does the house have to be clean but it has to be SPOTLESS, plus all the clutter has to be gone. Okay that's not quite true, we have been in houses where you don't even want to take your shoes off let alone buy it. So for the price that we are trying to get and since I can't stand people seeing my house when it isn't at it's best we are going the spotless route.

Yesterday, I cleaned for 6 hours and got the main floor perfectly clean. Now my house is not normally spotless (I have 2 kids here that help keep things "real") but it isn't a disaster either. Today I have the upstairs to do which shouldn't take as long as there aren't as many cupboards to clean out, and then tomorrow the basement will be attacked with Wayne's help.

The house goes on the market Thursday morning, and it closes on Saturday night, so by Sunday we should have a sold house.:) So wish us luck on the sale of our house, and hopefully everything will go smoothly.

What I love about my little man!!!

Nathan seems to be changing every day and since his birthday is in a few days I have been thinking more and more about the reasons why I love him and how I am sooo glad that we have him. I love: how Nathan wakes up from his naps and jumps in his crib till we get him out, how he cuddles up with his head on my shoulder and then tucks his hands under his tummy, how he squints his eyes closed and opens his mouth while we are saying prayers(I will try to capture this with a picture and show you at some point), how he sings to his teddy bears until he falls asleep, how I have to say goodnight to Nathan plus all of his stuffed animals in his crib at least twice before I can leave the room, how he smells especially after his bath, how he has stinky breath in the morning but it is kind of cute, how he LOVES brushing his teeth but really just sucks the toothpaste off the toothbrush, how he loves routine especially at night, how he can remember songs easily even if he can only sing the last word of each line, how every night he chooses the same song to sing which by the way is Teletubbies theme song, how he talks non-stop, how he runs around in a circle till he falls to the ground and then sits there totally dizzy with the funniest look on his face, his chubby legs, his cute belly, his perfect eyes and smile, his CRAZY hair thanks Shutra gene, how he is trying so hard to be a big kid but still loves being Mommy's baby, how he gets SOOO angry when he doesn't get his way and doesn't know what to do so he just runs for a hug, how when he is in a time out he sits with his arms folded the whole time, how he loves his Iliegh, how he has "2 mommies" Karalee and mommy and don't try to correct him because it just ends up with him freaking out, his little sense of humour which is very similar to his Daddy's, how he LOVES sports and loves playing with the big boys especially when they "body check" him, his cute bum, how he loves nursery and even goes by himself, how he sings I Am A Child Of God at the top of his lungs, how he is outgoing like Mommy but pretends that he is shy sometimes like Daddy, how he jumps, how he dances, how he runs, how he puts both hands on my cheeks and lays a wet kiss on my lips the whole time making a "mmmmm" sound and sometimes even moving his head (I don't know where he learned that one), how he loves corny videos like hooked on a feeling by David Hasselhoff (if you haven't seen this google it, it's real "good" just ask Nathan), how he is the perfect little boy and I wouldn't change him for anything.

We're moving!!!

Okay well we aren't moving yet, in fact we haven't even looked at our first house yet, but I have FINALLY convinced my wonderfully stubborn husband that it is time to find a new house.

For anyone that doesn't know we live in a townhouse condo which we bought before we had Nathan. It is a great house, 1100 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and it is ours which is the best thing about it. I have really enjoyed living here, fixing it up, becoming GREAT friends with our neighbours, and just paying ourselves rather than paying someone else for rent.

Anyways, even though this house has been REALLY fun, it is hard living in between 2 other families, constantly worrying about our noise levels, not having a fenced in back yard, and having to deal with a condo board :( , so we are moving!!!

We were going to just look in Saskatoon but both Wayne and I have been really interested in moving to a smaller town just outside of the city called Martensville. It will literally take Wayne 5-10 minutes to get to work where as now it takes him 35 minutes in the morning and about 45 minutes in the afternoon (I hate rush hour). It would mean that we would have to drive into the city to do lot's if not most things, but there are sooo many positives with living in a small town. Some of the things that I would REALLY enjoy are huge yards, we are close enough to the city that it is very conventient to do things, but far enough out of the city to have some peace and quiet, getting a WAY bigger and newer house for the same amount as purchasing in S'toon, Nathan going to a smaller school and being able to participate in more activities. Now even though I wouldn't have admitted this when I was a teenager, I really loved growing up in a small town and I would love our kids to be able to have that experience as well.

We have definately had people advising us for both moving out of S'toon, or staying and right now I don't know what is going to happen. But I can definately say that I am SOOO excited about this decision and I can't wait to see where we end up.

Sky Screamer

What a fun weekend we had this past weekend. We, as in the Shutra's, Fieguth's(Lisa's in-laws) and some of the Butler's went to Edmonton for the weekend. We spent tons of time shopping, and eating, but the funnest part was going to the waterpark in West Ed. We got there early Saturday morning and had a blast swimming in the wave pool and racing eachother down the slides. Nathan loved playing in the waves, swimming between Grandpa, Grandma, Steven, Mommy and Lisa, and was even big enough to go down some water slides by himself which he ABSOLUTELY loved.

Even though I am pretty adventurous I was too much of a chicken and wouldn't go down the big red slide which is called the Sky Screamer. You may ask "Why is it called the Sky Screamer?" Well it is called the Sky Screamer because you are so freakin high in the sky that you want to scream. If you haven't been to the waterpark the Sky Screamer starts at the top of the building, I am not kidding it feels like you could jump and touch the roof. You have to climb up who knows how many flights of stairs, I am sure they make you do that so you are too tired once you get to the top that you decide it is better to go down the slide than to climb all the way back down.Their trick didn't work for me though. Wayne, Steven, Darryl, Andrew and I all climbed the mountain of stairs and were all challenging eachother to go down the slide. However, the more stairs you climb the higher you realize you are and the less and less you challenge the other people hoping that they won't dare you to do it, because then it's either take the dare or be known as a chicken the rest of your life.

So we all get to the top of the slide, and walk to the railing hoping that some of the screws didn't come loose and it will hold you up from falling. Of course, it holds but oh man, it feels like you are falling because your stomach is doing funky things. I being brave, walked over and looked down the slide. You are suppose to sit at the top and then wiggle yourself over the edge onto a slide that pretty much doesn't need to be there because you just freefall for the first 600 feet. Okay well it's not really 600 feet but it looks like it.

Well I didn't care what anyone else said, I was NOT GOING DOWN IT!!!! I know, I know, I am a chicken, and I am totally okay with being called that when it comes to this slide. Just for your knowledge Wayne and Andrew didn't go down this slide either. :p

Anyways, I walked back down to the other "extreme" slide, which by the way you get air while going down it, and went down this slide.

Andrew the big talker, kept saying that he was going to go down the Sky Screamer, and kept chickening out. Now to give Andrew some credit, he is TOTALLY afraid of heights. So after a few people climbing to the top with him and trying to get him to go down, my Mom the fearless, or crazy Kay decided to go down with Andrew. So they climbed up the huge amount of stairs that I am sure could get you to the top of the Empire State Building and were up there for a little while. Next thing I know, my Mom, once again let me repeat the fearless or crazy woman, sits down at the top of the slide, wiggles her bum a little and down she comes, holding onto the side for all it's worth. Once at the bottom she stayed in the pool for a little while, she informed us later it was to get the HUGE wedgie out of her bottom. You go down this slide SOOO fast that not only do you get a CRAZY wedgie but you can blow a hole in your swimsuit, if you don't believe me ask Mom.

Well my mom has been my hero for a long time but now well she is just so AWESOME!!!!

BTW, Andrew never went down the slide!!!

We had a great time, and it was so fun being with all of our families. Thanks for a great weekend everyone!!!

23 days and counting

For the last 13 months Wayne and I have been trying to give Nathan a little brother or sister to pick on. Things have not been working and finally after many sad months we have been accepted by a Fertility Specialist again. For anyone that may not know, I have PCOS (which is Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and to explain it simply is that my body produces too many male hormones called androgens. This causes my body not to work properly which causes us to have a hard time getting pregnant as well as other complications, which I don't think anyone really wants to read about here. :)

We had to go to a specialist before to get pregnant with Nathan, and were blessed with being pregnant only a month after we started treatments. Well this time around we started the same treatments over a year ago, hoping it would be as easy as with Nathan, no such luck. :( It has been an incredibly hard challenge to go through. There is nothing in the world that I love more than being a Mom, and it is something that I have always wanted to be. What I would give to be like some of my friends that wash their clothes with their husbands and they're pregnant. :) But that is not the plan that Heavenly Father has for me.

So now after trying for this long we get to go see the good old Specialist. At my last appointment the dr. informed me that since I wasn't ovulating that they would probably put me on a drug called Clomid. Clomid makes you ovulate (at least that is what they tell me), but it also can make you drop mulitiple eggs. So my kind dr. informed me that the risk of a multiple birth is higher. OH YIPEE!!! not!! I have had nightmares since about breastfeeding 6 babies, all the diapers, etc. Of course this is very unlikely ( I HOPE). Usually it is only twins or triplets, which still is scarey. Oh boy.

Anyways, we had to go on a 3 month waiting period and man I was hoping I would get pregnant before then... no luck. So in only 23 days we will be seeing our specialist and hopefully we will be able to get preggers soon.

Please keep us in your thoughts and your prayers.

I was told I "type" too much.

Hehe, we were talking about Wayne's blog and my blog the other day and Darryl(my brother in law) told me that he likes reading mine, but that sometimes I type too much. I just laughed. Everyone that knows me knows how much I LOVE to talk, and now I guess type. :)

I was thinking about 2006 the other day, and wondering where it went. Looking back over the events of the year it has just been a GREAT year. Nathan turned 1 and we have watched him grow and change into a little man everyday this year, Wayne had a job offer in Edmonton which after many hours of discussion and prayers we turned it down, I started driving bus, we have made some new friends and strengthened other friendships, Karalee and Iliegh moved back to Saskatoon, Andrew and Aaron graduated, Russell and Beth got married in April, and Lisa and Steven got married in August, and Darryl moved to Saskatoon for school and is now staying. How Fun!!!

We have had some sadness and stress this last year as well, both Grandpa Shutra and Grandpa Hatch were in the hospital for some time and we didn't know if they would make it, thankfully they did. Wayne and I started to try to have a baby in January and unfortunately 2006 wasn't the year to have a new spirit enter our home.

We definately have had so many ups and some downs but 2006 was such a fun and exciting year. I can't wait to see what 2007 brings our family.

Christmas at the Butler's

So we left the Shutra's on the 27th and headed home. Wayne and I were planning on coming home, doing some laundry, packing, and then leaving again the next day. After thinking about it we decided that it would probably be better to just leave that night and drive at nighttime so that Nathan could sleep. So we got home, cleaned out the car, repacked the car, I ran a few errands, and then we set off for Mom and Dad's all within a few hours. I know that Heavenly Father had a hand in this decision because when we passed Swift Current the roads turned PURE ice, and they were HORRIBLE!!! We hit a big storm and decided to not risk it anymore and to stop in Medicine Hat. The next day the storm had moved on, and most of the rest of the roads were pretty good after the road crews had got to them. If we had been driving that morning from Saskatoon we would have been driving the whole way in the storm, and with bad roads. I am certainly glad we left when we did.

It was super fun being with my family. Karalee, Iliegh, Russell and Beth had all gone down for Christmas and were already back in Saskatoon when we got to Mom and Dad's so it was just Wayne, Nathan, Lisa, Steven and I there. We had a lot of fun playing games, and teasing eachother. It was SOOO nice for mom and Dad to get to spend some time with just Nathan. Nathan LOVED all the attention but especially wanted "Papa" and "Tevan" to pay attention to him. Nathan got a really cool work bench from Mom and Dad, which he loves as well. He thinks it is pretty cool to watch Daddy putting the screws in the table with the tools. Nathan is SUCH a boy!!! :)

We were able to go and see Grandma and Grandpa Great's(Butler) new house. It's really weird to have them living in Lethbridge and not the farm. We also went out to the farm and saw how they had torn everything down... :( It was almost eery. I grew up on the farm and have SOOOO many memories and now all that is there is the house and land. The people that bought the farm tore down EVERYTHING. It was REALLY sad to see.

We also went and saw Grandpa Hatch and Grandma Amy. Last time I saw Grandpa he looked pretty good (I believe he is 90). But after being sick he looks so old and frail. I just wanted to hug him. I am really glad that we got to see him, talk to him and just spend some time with him, who knows how much longer he will last.

We rang in the New Year with Mom, Dad, Steven and Lisa. We played a CSI game(which is reallly fun), ate,ate ate and then counted down the last minutes of 2006. I was going to put Nathan to bed earlier, but Mom and Wayne kept telling me to let him stay up. He had fun playing with everyone, and crashed shortly after midnight. Poor little guy.

Anyways, another year has come and gone. It's sad to be getting older, but nice on the other hand too. I hope everyone had a FABULOUS Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Love you all.

The holiday madness is FINALLY over, back to reality!!!

Even though I absolutely LOVE Christmas and LOVE getting together with family, it sure feels great to be home. Spending almost 2 weeks away from home was easy before we had a little one but it sure is rough on Nathan. He didn't like sleeping in weird rooms and so ended up sleeping with Wayne and I every night. This would be okay if he would just lay still and sleep, but Nathan LOVES laying on my head, chest, or curled up with his feet either in my ribs or back. He also LOVES running his fingers through my hair, which has been a comfort to him since he was little, but man it drives me crazy after awhile. It is like Chinese torture, and it goes on all night. Oh well... it's fun to wake up to his cute little face in the morning and getting a stinky breath kiss from him.

We left Saskatoon on the 22nd of December to go to the farm. It was nice to spend more than one night at Brian and Charlene's and not feel like we were rushed to fit in everything that we wanted to do. We had a great time visiting with family and friends, and Nathan LOVED the attention that he got from everyone. Some of the highlights of our Christmas at the farm were playing "touch" (turn to tackle) football with the boys in snow up to our knees. Darryl, Aaron, Brian and Wayne like to tackle me and push me around but they usually do it pretty gently. Not Andrew, he pushes me and hits me just like he hits the boys, I have learnt to run away from him, but there were a few times that he took me down :) I also tackled big solid Andrew once(it was after the play was done and he wasn't expecting it, but hey I got him down so that's all I cared about) The snow felt like a nice fluffy pillow and it was fun to fall into.
We also took Nathan sledding for the first time. Wayne took him down first and then climbed back up the hill with Nathan holding onto the GT with everything he had. I then climbed on the back of the GT and took off with Nathan. Let's just say the poor little guy DID NOT like it. He gasped the whole way down, and when I asked him at the bottom if he wanted to do it again, he almost screamed "no". Hehe, maybe next year. It's kind of funny because Nathan doesn't like sledding but he LOVES the snowmobiles which are WAY faster. Daddy took him for his first ride, which he loved and cried when Daddy tried to take him off, and then Grandma and Darryl each took him.
We went with Charlene to her church (Potter's House) on Christmas Eve. It was a very nice little church, and the people were very friendly. It was really interesting going to a church that had a singer, back up singers, organ, guitar, and drums. When we first walked in we were introduced to the minister. He was holding a briefcase and Nathan said "Poper Tips" which is "Poker Chips" and pointed at the briefcase. OH MY GOODNESS, we all started laughing and quickly changed the topic. Well guess what the sermon was on that day....hehe... gambling... well not just about gambling, but when the minister started talking about how bad gambling is, we all just about busted a gut. BTW, the poker chips have been hidden away.
Christmas morning was super fun!! Nathan LOVED opening all the gifts, and when I say all the gifts I mean... ALLLLL the gifts. :) Poor Andrew was pretty put out that Nathan was getting so many gifts and not him. The best gift that Nathan got from the Shutra's was a Little Tykes car. He spent the rest of the time in that silly thing. The car has a door and Nathan was showed how to use it, nope Nathan liked to get out by sliding under the car, and get in by climbing over the door.. hehe... Maybe he will be a race car driver and not need a door that opens.
Anyways, it's late and time for bed. We had such a fun time with the Shutra's and tomorrow I will write about our adventures with the Butler B's.