Best Field Trip Ever!

Really the title says it all. When the rest of the school was at the ski hill, for a fun day, Nathan and his buddy got to go on their very own special field trip! Usually they would stay home for these days, as its no fun watching everyone else have fun up the hill. However this year both of the boys aides, planned a fun filled day! They even got out to walk a bit as it was so warm out! Here they are on the way to the Pioneer Museum.


One of our local businessman offered his "bat cave" for the boys to hang out at for the morning! Its like a "man cave" on steroids with many vintage cars a kitchen, XBOX 360 and theatre screen!

Nate was trying to tell me that he needed this car, and it was for sale for only $25,000! LOL!

Yep! Best field trip ever! Car racing!

we are so blessed to have amazing staff at our school who love our kids. We have attended school's where the staff is just there for the pay cheque. Not this school, they make an attempt to include all the students in fun days, even if that means planning a whole different trip for the kids who can't go up the ski hill. So thank you! You certainly made these boys day.:)

How time flies!

I remember this day like it was yesterday! Nathan's first day of Grade 1 and Josh's first day of Kindergarten and our sweet little Riley! Sometimes it feels like you blink and they are Pre teens and almost 6! Oh how I love these little munchkins! And how quickly I forget that they were once little like Addison, it reminds me to drink up every second with them! Before I know it they will all be grown and gone!

Nate's "Friends" Birthday Party

Nathan really wanted a pool party this year, with his friends. And I have to admit we don't always have friends parties, for various reasons, one being we are usually in Montreal, Nathan has a fracture, kids are sick, etc. etc. However this year we did! It was important to our Nate boy that Howard was home, so we quickly planned his party for the day after we returned from Montreal. It was pretty basic! Swimming, pizza and an ice cream cake. All the boys were really well behaved and I think they all had a great time. :)

Our great big 12 year old! Well he will be 12 on March 25th.


I seem to rarely be in any of the birthday pictures....so here the "original" 3 are.:) Ugh totally bad picture of me! But Whatever!

Here are the group of boys in the hot tub... 12 is such a funny age! They want to be treated like an adult yet they love to play like little boys! :) This group of young men are so great! Most of them attend our church, and both Nate and Josh have a wonderful time when they all get together.

The birthday boy, makin a splash!

Montreal

One of the two snow storms we experienced while in Montreal. Don't you just love the old buildings in historic cities, like Montreal? I do they do my heart good.

Nate having one of the series of X rays he gets every 6 months.....doesn't he look happy to be having his picture taken? Lol!


This little boy was in awe of Nathan! :) He was ecstatic to find out he was sharing a hospital room with Nate. And in return Nathan was so super sweet, he helped his new little buddy in any way he could! It made me so proud to see him being so compassionate and nurturing. The boys were at the school that the hospital provides for kids while they are receiving treatment away from home. That way the kids can keep up on their school work while they are hospitalized. Can I just say how much we love the Shriner's Hospital!

Nathan and I arrived home last night from a wonderful trip to Montreal, to see his specialists and receive an IV treatment that strengthens his bones. (In case you are new to our little blog, Nate is our oldest child and he was diagnosed at birth with Osteogensis Imperfecta/ Brittle bone disease.) We had a great time despite the lousy weather that included alot of snow, rain and freezing rain. We ate at his favourite restaurant we toured around and shopped til we dropped. Oh yeah and we saw all his doctors. :)

We had a mixed bag of news this trip, Nathan's bone density increased by 5% Yay! And he grew quite a bit. However his femur bones have become too deformed, so in September sometime Nathan will be going for surgery to replace the rod in his right femur and insert one in his left femur. We are waiting to hear from his orthopedic surgeons receptionist to book the dates. The good things are that once our Nate boy recovers, he will be able to walk with less of a limp, we have alot of time to prepare for our trip and the surgery, he won't miss his summer "fun" being in a double leg cast. There are lots of things to be thankful for. And we are going to focus on that heading into Nathans surgeries.

Its funny, because I think at the beginning of this year, as I was "mapping out" what our year would look like, with trips, work, etc. I was very conscious about instead of me making plans, taking the time to pray and listen to what God had planned for us this coming year. Well it kinda looking like 2011 maybe the Mervyn family's year of doctors appointment and hospital stays! lol! Not what I hoped for, but I can't help but see how big we have been blessed! I was reflecting on some of the points we learnt in small group last week about Life being a test, a trust, life is short, and that we are not home yet! And thinking how true all those points were!

I have to say 5 days away from home was therapeutic for this Mama. I missed my family that stayed home. But boy was it great to have some time to just spend with Nathan! It also gave me some perspective on all of our family has been through these last couple weeks. I feel ready to be back and consider it such a privilege to be a Mom of 4 beautiful amazing children. Also I think it was a little eye opening for Howard to be alone with 3 of our munchkins for 5 days. :) They had a wonderful time, but my honey was glad our flight made it home last night! lol!

We still have heard nothing from the doctors about Addison. We were told 4-6 weeks and next week will be 4 weeks, hopefully we get an appointment soon! She is doing well, and survived 5 days without me much to my dismay! :) I am just kidding! I am very proud she did so well without me.

Nathan had his friends birthday party tonight, and that will be the next thing I blog about, but I want to enjoy my last night with my husband for 24 nights!

I want to thank you all again for your love, prayers and support. Your comments on this blog, facebook and emails have brightened our days and lifted us up when it felt we couldn't make one more step!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Ok I said in the last post that I would share this recipe. All of my kids love these, and really so do Howard and I. The best part are that they are only 150 calories and 6g fat per regular sized muffin! That is in comparison to 600 calories and 30g fat in a coffee shop muffin! My kids can make these tender little morsels disappear in record time! So I would suggest doubling the recipe. They are moist and delish with coffee. ;)

3/4 cups of bananas, mashed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips.

Preheat oven 375F Spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil.

Using electric mixer, beat together bananas, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until well mixed.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir the banana and flour mixture together. Stir in the yogurt. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake 15 minutes or until done.

In like a lion out like a lamb?

SMILE!?!

We are again in the throes of winter! Like -45 with windchill!!!! I made the executive decision to keep all the kids home today......really shouldn't the world stop when its that cold out!?! We are hunkered down playing board games and the girls and I are going to make some banana chocolate chip muffins this afternoon. I might share the recipe later this week on the blog, my kids love them and they are low fat and low in sugar!

I am so very ready for real spring.....not a teaser. Only 6 more weeks and the snow should be gone!

Nate and I fly out on Sunday for a week of doctor appointments and his IV treatment in Montreal. :) I am really looking forward to going, it looks like the weather is ALOT warmer out that way. Nathan is excited to do some shopping and just have some one on one with me! (His words) I was a little surprised to hear him say that! And really lets be honest since Howard was gone for 34 days, leaving me with 4 children to parent. A week of one child will feel like a vacation! :) Nathan's leg seems to be getting better everyday, he started weight barring last week and now he is walking short distances! Yay!

Howard came home last week for four days. It was unbelievable how much we all missed him! Addison struggled a bit at first, which I totally expected. It was like she needed to test him. I guess her Baba passed the test because within 24 hours she was back to her regular self. Howard will arrive home Saturday night to stay with our 3 youngest munchkins when Nate and I are away. (This is the first time I will be away from Addison.) And then he will head back on the following Saturday. We are planning an early surprise party for Nathan at a local hotel pool for him and his buddies on Friday! Howard will be gone for most of the Spring. Legally he can't work more than 24 days and then has to have 4 days off......so that is what our lives will be until the end of April.......we think!?! Hopefully we all survive! lol! I know lots of families that live like this........but I really like my husband! And parenting 4 kids by myself is very very hard! I must not be made out of the same tough cloth. We are planning a vacation at the end of April for 2 weeks (that's the only way I can guarantee to have Howard home!) I am hoping we can have Addy's treatment decision made by the time we leave (April 26th) We also hope that this summer Howard will be home alot because he was so busy this winter/spring. I just have to keep remembering this is just a season and it will soon change. :)

Addison is doing really well! She seems really healthy and is as sassy as ever! lol! We have seen some regression in some areas, but with the stress of her diagnosis and Howard being away so much, of course we would see that. I am trying to just give her alot of attention and one on one. Which definitely creates a problem with Riley as she then feels left out! I am trying to find activities I can do with both my girls so they feel their love tanks are full. :)

I have made a promise to myself to have a baby sitter come in once a week, so I can have some Me time. Whether I feel like it or not! Tonight is that night! My bestfriend and I are heading out in the freezing cold to see a movie. I am blessed to have friends who love me enough to force me to get out! :)

So things are going well in our neck of the woods! Praying for warmer weather! And trying to find new activities we can do at home to keep the troops busy. :)