Highlights of 2011

2011 has been an incredibly busy year for our small family, and has been filled with many blessings!  Here is small list of some of our blessings this year!

• Raymond graduated from Red River Community College and received the Gold Medal for his program Information Systems Technology (Network Management)!  I am so proud of him!

• Geekabyte Computers was created by Raymond and although it had a slow start, what with the flood, it has continued to grow and develop and Raymond is enjoying running it!
  
   
• We bought a new house!  We are now located at #14 Spruce Ave in Ashern, Manitoba.  We took possession on March 1st, did a whole lot of renovations and moved in on March 31st!
  

It is a super cute 3 bedroom bungalow, that Raymond, and Dennis fixed up for us!  We're not completely done renovations, but we've done most of what we're doing for now.  That included, redoing the kitchen, our friend's Beth and Tom came and helped us rip up the parkade flooring and take out the cupboards, as we redid the kitchen!  Beth and I repainted all of the upstairs except the bathrooms, and Raymond and Dennis, put an office in the basement for Raymond, then for me, and a family room downstairs!  It has been quite the year of renovations! With only a few minor scrapes and one as I call it mini major scrape resulting in a few stitches!

• We endured the Flood of 2011, as we moved out of our old house we encountered a small issue one day, in that our driveway had a 5 foot chunk which had been washed away and we were unable to return to get our stuff that day! Thankfully it was repaired quickly and we were able to move out!  We have been blessed in this flood that we were not affected. However, our area has been and continues to be devastated by the flood.  The water has not gone down a great deal, and farmer's fields, homes, pastureland is all underwater.
  

•  On July 2nd we were sealed for Time and All Eternity to each other in the Cardston Temple in Cardston, Alberta, Canada!  It was a beautiful day and we were able to share the day with Raymond's brother James, and his family, and his sister Jacquie, and her family, who had been unable to attend our wedding the year before!

• In November, Abbey Lynne Northcott came to join our family!  She is a pretty special young lady, at least to her family!  Her smile can magically make you forget the plethora of dirty diapers, the late night feedings, and the tiny bit of crying that she does!  She is a super great traveler, she is a good sleeper, and everyone comments on what a quiet baby she can be!  We love her dearly and are so happy to call her our own!
  
  
  
  
  And to steal the ending from my friend Krystal's blog...  The best thing about 2011 is all of the time we've been able to spend with family and friends.  Whether it was in person, on the phone, or over emails and Facebook, we appreciate all of the time that we've been able to spent together this year and look forward to spending time with you all next year!  May 2012 bring you all health, happiness and prosperity!
  

  
  

Week #4

I'm four weeks old today!!!!

Santra Trip

Dad had built a computer for a friend for his wife for Christmas!  Mom, Dad and I were going to go and deliver it about two weeks before Christmas, and mom thought it would be fun if we all dressed up!  Of course there are no pictures of mom and dad, but mom took these pictures of me!

 When we got there their kids were super excited to see me and each wanted to hold me, and everyone but the youngest was able to! 

 Devon and I, with Charlee!

Porter gets a turn too!

Charlee is so excited to hold me!

My New Toy!

One of my baby shower gifts was a swing! 

I love it!  

Mom and Dad love it!

Grandma Hill loves it too!

None of them can ride in it, but they certainly love to put me in it!

As an added bonus it plays music, one of the songs is the song that Mom's dad used to sing to her, Jimmy Cracked Corn!

Here is my new treasured possession.  Thanks to all those who contributed to my swing.

More New People!

I'm pretty new, and everyone wants to see me!  This means mommy gets to see people she hasn't seen in years, and that is pretty fun!

Jeannie Perkins and I!  We had a wonderful visit catching up!  Bryan is married and living in California, and has a one year old daughter named Hazel!  Sean is in Winnipeg and Stephanie is in Saskatoon and is expecting in the coming year!  She's also getting married, busy year for Steph! 

This is Diane Kreshewski, she came to see me a little after Jeannie did!  She brought a treasure trove of stuff for me! And my first Rubber Ducky!

Auntie Pat showed up while Diane was still there, and she gave me this Panda Hat!  She had to go though so it was a short visit with her!

Then Diane's mom, "Aunt Emily" showed up!  They both just looked at me, and smiled!

Auntie Emily loves me too!  She stayed for a bit before running away!  She has apparently changed too many diapers, because as soon as I made a dirty diaper she quickly returned me to mom!

What a busy day meeting new people!

Baby Shower #2

 Karen and Wendy thought it would be fun to have a potluck baby shower!  What a great evening was had by all who could attend!  We had a fabulous potluck, and a great evening visiting and opening presents!  Abbey is so blessed to have so many people who love her!  A huge thank you to all who contributed to the Cradle Swing, Abbey loves it and so does mom!!!!! 

 

 Elsie, Sis. Z and Margaret Drinkwater

Joyce and Thelma

Karen, Nancy and Wendy

Grandma steals Abbey!

Joyce, Nancy, Wendy and Abbey, and Karen

Erin and Margaret

 Margaret and Taylor who helped me open presents!

Wendy and Abbey

Taylor helping with the tissue paper!

 Taylor playing with the tissue paper!

Margaret and her Snowman friend!

Taylor modelling her tissue paper skirt!

Elsie, Mom and Sister Z, with Taylor

Joyce, Nancy, Wendy and Abbey with her new flower hair accessory!

Erin, our cousin who is expecting in April I think!  

Taylor so excited to be holding Abbey!