~A Year in Review 2011~

Wow.  Another year is passed.  It goes so quick now that I have a kid and a job I love.  Both of which let’s be honest drive me nuts some days and other days are what make my world go around!  Instead of my usual marathon re-hash of the last year I’m going to do a Top Ten list of 2011 with links to topics over the year. 

My Top 10 Favourite Memories of the year:

#10: Renovations to the House – So glad to be done with most of the Basement Project.  We completed the Eco Audit, gave the upstairs bathroom a new paint job, made a new Garden Spot,  and put in new Windows, and bought a new stove.

#9:  Crafts!!! – We’ve had lots of fun getting our craft on this year.  I’ve been using my Silhouette, Ethan's doing lots of crafts and we’ve been making gifts!  Ethan loves to get into the craft room and do his ‘craps’

#8:  Decorating the House – I put up a family picture gallery and updated my shelf decor, and bought some funky wall art!  

#7:  Our Family Photo Shoot by Heaton Photography

#6:  The Summer:  Garage Sale Deals, BBQ Season, Sun Fun

#5:  Road Trip to Drumheller:  Taking Ethan to see the Dinosaurs in Drumheller and hanging with my bestie Melissa and family!

#4:  Summer Vacation at home and even the change of plans when we got home and the trip we took…

#3:  Jasper Trip – it was an absolute blast!  I can’t wait to spend more time camping with Ethan in the next couple years!

#2:  Parties!  - We had our awesome little 3 year olds Pizza Planet Birthday Party this spring and then finished the year with a fun family and friends Christmas Party!  (The first Annual!)

#1:  Ethan goes to Preschool! – WOW!  My little boy stepped foot into his first classroom!  I’m so proud of how well he’s doing and adapting to that learning environment.  It shows in his other activities that we do outside of school!  I was a wreck about the whole thing but now he rides the bus and looks forward to every day and I don’t even blink an eye!  We made changes to his schooling plans about a month in but in the end I believe its for the best!  Its so surreal to think that WE have a kid in school!!!  We’re so proud!

~A Year in Review 2008~

What a whirlwind of a year! We grew exponentially this year. As a family number, as individuals, as a couple. We were blessed with a wonderful little boy who lights up our life. Let's take a look at what was 2008 for us...

**January**



Growing, growing, growing! Our first ultrasound where we got to see a fuzzy image of our little one!

We moved in January last year to a bigger apt in Ft Nelson, A.K.A. Middle of nowhere, then promptly found out that the mill was closing and that we were out of work! As the world turns you know we ended up staying there and working for a bit longer but oy vey! If it weren't for bad luck we would have had none! Also last January my sister Mary celebrated 30lbs of weight loss in her weight loss journey! Way to go! (She looks awesome!)

**February**



Still growing, growing, growing! February was a quiet month for us. It was brutally cold out and I wasn't feeling too hot. I had a baby shower thrown for me this month by all my friends in Ft Nelson. It was a nice night out and we got lots of useful baby items!

**March**



Randy left me in Ft Nelson in March to go to Grande Prairie to find work and a place for us to live. I was bored so I took it upon myself to do a little impromptu photo shoot one afternoon. I was so happy with the results!!! I will always treasure those pics!

I finished work in March, thank goodness! It was so dead and business was so quiet I wanted to hang myself! Randy found us a place to live and we started doing baby purchases!

**April**



Our 8th Anniversary together. I got to wear my pretty green polka dot maternity dress out to dinner. Another great photo op for us!



Ethan Thomas (aka ET) born to us on April 26, 6lbs 4 oz. He was a month early, suprise! We so wanted a girl but after he was born it all didn't matter. He was the perfect little boy for us, a son! Of course we had to be tested and he was born with his TE Fistula and was airlifted to Edmonton for an emergency surgery. Oh how much I learned from that experience. I learned that we have strength as a couple together. I learned that we have an incredible, loving support group of friends and family. I learned that it is possible to love someone you just met so much that you would die for them rather then see them get another needle or test. I learned that our son is an incredible fighter! I learned that God does not give us more then we can handle. He gives us enough to strenghten the bonds in our lives.



It is so hard to go back to the day this picture was taken. Just out of surgery, I remember the words that the surgeon said "It went perfectly" I don't think I had taken a full breath in for the whole time he was in surgery. I almost collapsed, I'm so glad Randy was there to grab me. I wanted to grab the surgeon and kiss him and hug him but I grabbed his hand and shook it and thanked him with tears of gratitude in my eyes. Then I ran down the hall to Mom and Dick (my brother) and told them the good news and got the best hug in the world from my Mom. Thank God she was there with us for that! Thanks Mom!

**May**



Ethan's first meal...at 11 days old. It was so scary to hold him and move him with all the wires but also with the knowledge that there were stitches inside holding his esophagus together! I was so scared...it took a long time for me to get over that!

Ethan did amazingly well and we were discharged on Mothers' Day. What a wonderful present for me! We stayed on at Mikes' house for a few days until I felt comfortable that everything was fine. The first night home we got some family pics...he is so small!



I laugh every time I see these pictures. I remember thinking, well it worked for kids when I was growing up, it will work for him too! I didn't have anywhere for him to sleep at Mikes' house so he slept there. But only the first night. He was too long for it and him and I slept on the couch instead.



**June**



Hot summer days. We stayed close to home and spent alot of time together, Ethan & I. We had company non-stop all summer and we just lapped up the time together!

**July**

July, full of highs and lows...Randy got an awesome job this month and was let go two weeks later. Such a low but in the end it was a good thing. We took in the Canada Day parade with Ethan and our friends Kim & Terry...Ethan petered out, it was pretty hot!



Little guy and I took to the road in July. My niece Jennifer got married and we were able to meet all the family for a really nice get together and everyone got a chance to snuggle with Ethan! Then I got a chance to catch up with my best friend, Melissa, and we got some great pictures of us with our kids! Wow...I feel so grown up, LOL!




**August**

Mmmmm Farmers' market and fresh veggies. August was a good month for getting out. We went on walks, we went to the market. We went home again and did work on our Mom's houses. We got to meet up with our friend Mike again in Edmonton. He is most definately Ethans' special uncle! We are extremely lucky to call him our friend!




**September**

In September we had Grandma stay with us for a few days. She taught me how to can food! I'm so excited! So far I've made pickled beets, carrots and jalepanos and a peach chutney. I can't wait for next year! I'm going to get Melissa's salsa recipe and make salsa!

We also had a family birthday party for Randy on the 18th. Cole and Mary came and sang Happy Birthday and Ethan got to try icing for the first time!




**October**

The fun began this month. Ethan learned how to roll, he wasn't very good at it but he could do it! He was also full of smiles and suprises every day! He looked so cute dressed up for his first Halloween! We went out to a few places dressed up but next year will be the fun year! I started my Coke garden this month, I can't wait to show you how it's doing!






**November**

We did our fall photo shoot in November this year at the river park. It was a nice enough day and we took along a few props to add to the fun! I had great intentions of turning these into Christmas cards again this year but I ran out of steam and it didn't happen. No cards this year!







**December**

Opening our new PJ's on Christmas Eve was alot of fun! It was Ethans' first time opening a present! We are going to make this an annual tradition, new PJs on Christmas Eve! I love PJs! We all got a set to wear for Christmas morning!



Christmas morning opening presents in our new PJs. Ethan didn't really get the hang of ripping into the presents...he much preferred putting the paper in his mouth! We had lots of fun though and we are still enjoying him playing with all his new toys!







Ethan and Randy battling each other with empty paper rolls. It was fun to watch them play with them!



Looking sharp in his santa hat and new sweater getting ready for dinner!



We had a fun Christmas at home this year. Mary and Cole joined us for supper of Prime Rib, mashed potatoes and gravy, yorkshire pudding, ceasar salad and peas. We had a yummy apple pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. The food and company were both great!

For New Years we stayed in and had a yummy supper of a bunch of different appetizers. Then after Ethan was in bed we played 3 games of crib and 3 games of skipbo. We barely made it to ring in 2009 before we were in bed. I know, I know, we are fuddy-duddies! But we like it that way!

We are full of hope for 2009. Randy is working towards his apprenticeship in Furnace Installation and really likes the work and the people he works with. I go back to work in April and since I picked up the contract to audit Huskys I no longer need to go into a high stress management job. So I'm looking at going into working for a bank. There are lots of opportunities in banking and I have an interest in finance. So it looks like it will be a good fit. Besides, how could I turn down and M-Fri day job???

We look forward to watching Ethan grow and develop throughout 2009. We are hopeful that his surgery and repair were a full success but we do have follow-ups with the surgeons and specialists throughout the year. We will keep everyone up to date as we find things out.

Finally, we look forward to enjoying time with all our friends and family in 2009. We have wishes for happiness and joy for all of you...you are some of the best there are!

Well I'm sitting here on December 31, 2007 and thinking back on the year we've had... WOW big changes again in the Rogers/Grounds house! I love this magazine cover I whipped up, it really helped me think about what I want to talk about in my last post for the year. Not to mention it's kind of cute!!! So this will be a long one, but I want to be able to look back on my memories as they years go by via this blog so here goes....

Places we Visited

2007 started out with very little travel as we were still paying for our house in Grande Prairie plus rent in Calgary. Our budget was very tight and required Randy to work his full time job as well as deliver pizzas five nights a week. We passed each other in the hall those days, we were both working so much. Thankfully in March the house sold and we were even able to make a little profit off it to pay down some bills. Life slowed down a bit and we started planning our summer vacation to Salt Lake City to visit (and for me to FINALLY meet) Randy's family that lives there. We did some fun things in the months leading up to our trip including a picnic at Prince's Island Park, a couple of trips to Kananaskis, a visit with my college friend Mike, tour the zoo, Greek Festival, and some walking tours around Calgary. It was one of the funnest summers we've had in years. In August we loaded up the SUV and took off for Salt Lake City, you can find the post on it by clicking on the label for Vacation on the side. It was a great time and has created a relationship that I know Randy and I will cherish forever.

Baby Making 101

Well a boy and a girl meet and fall in love, then they...nah I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say, Randy and I did not have any problems. We went on vacation, I took my pack of pills, got there, opened it and....oops it was empty! So one thing led to another and a mere month of being off birth control and I'm pregnant! We were planning on starting to try in about 6 months so it didn't matter to us one way or another. We are just so happy to be welcoming our little one in May!

Jobs, What is the Right Fit?

Well again this year Randy changed jobs. It seems that it has happened so often in the last few years but when you don't have an education or a trade to fall back on it does two things...a) can make it hard to decide what to do but at the same time it b) leaves many doors open to try new things. Well Randy has dabbled in carpentry off and on over the years and quite enjoys the work. After trying the management field yet again he finally decided that he wanted to go into finishing carpentry as a career. He had a great offer from an old friend and pursued it. That is so like Randy though, just go after something wholeheartedly and put his all into it. So far he is totally in his groove. He started out doing tiling of bathtub walls and backsplashes on countertops and got to learn how to do that well. Now he's in the shop building cabinets and countertops and learning how to do millwork. He is in his heaven! He comes home happy every night and is learning so much. I'm really happy for him!

As for me, I left a GREAT job at Reitmans to follow Randy to the great frosty north where we now live. I'm working until baby is here as a leasing agent, renting apartments out. It's easy work and the money is decent. I'm on the fence as to if it is something I would do forever though...this company is not it for me! I like that I have administrative work to do but that I still get to interact with people. It's a nice mix. I do plan on staying home with our baby though and stopping work likely in end of March. We would like to have me at home until baby starts school, we'll have to see if our circumstances allow that. We have some BIG goals for 2008 that I'll share that will help us to accomplish that.

GOALS for 2008

Randy and I have no room in our life for resolutions. We set goals and work towards them so that they are achieved. I know that to some people they are one and the same but I don't like the word resolution. It sounds like you are made to do it, last resort kind of thing. I look at our goals as CHOICES that we make based on our VALUES. So for 2008 we have some big ones to work on. I'll be sharing some personal information that I feel that I can trust with you as our friends and family. If I feel that trust is violated then I will take it off of here.

Short Term Goals

1. Have a healthy pregnancy - I am working hard to ensure that I eat properly, drink enough water, obviously avoid alcohol and smoking, and make it to my Dr for all my appointments.

2. Enjoy our hobbies - Randy LOVES playing World of Warcraft and I spend too much time picking on him about it so I'm going to give him his time to enjoy himself and take my own time to pursue my interests. I love to scrapbook, take pictures and read though I don't find myself taking time for them enough. So I'm setting aside time each week where that is exactly what I do. I'm going to go an get a library card this weekend and become active as a member. I may even volunteer there. I love to cook and collect recipes so I want to create a 'scrapbook' where I can keep them organized so I can use them easily. I want to have this time before we have baby so that we can savor the last few months of just being by ourselves...

Long Term Goals

1. Pay off $30,000 of debt this year - It sounds like a really ambitious goal and likely a little unreachable to some but I've crunched the numbers forwards, backwards and sideways and we can do it if we really work at it. We are living free right now, no household expenses yet bringing in a nice steady income. There is nothing to do here and no where to go. While sometimes that is a disadvantage in this situation it is an advantage. It will give us a way to accomplish goal #2 above as well as save money for this goal. We have our trailer loan coming due for renewal this year and we would like to just pay it down before refinancing it. Randy needs to buy a truck in the spring for work, he's using one of his bosses' for now but he can't do that forever he needs his own. So we are planning on buying a used truck and putting a huge downpayment on it. We want to cancel all but two credit cards by paying them off and paying off and cancelling one line of credit. The only major purchases we will be making this year are for baby and we are getting alot of that as hand-me-downs and only buying the necessities. Until baby is born we will likely have only one dining out night a month for a date night and after baby is born it will likely be pizza once a month. LOL. Another benefit of living in the middle of nowhere, no places to eat out!

2. Save $ 14, 000 this Year - Yes it is possible. Once again, I've crunched the numbers and it will work. I want to have five months of living expenses in a savings account that we can access at all times. We currently have around 2 months worth saved up that we can access so this will finish that off. We are creating a baby savings account that will be a part of that number and a portion of that money will be going into an RESP for education for him/her up to the governments match amount. Randy didn't go to school and I didn't get the education I wanted because we couldn't afford it and we want to be able to provide that for our kid(s). A part of the savings will go towards taxes because we know that Randy will have to pay taxes on his income. With this money saved we can alleviate the tax burden by being able to contribute to RRSP's once we know how much it will take.

3. Lose Weight from Baby - I'm not concerned about it happening overnight but I want to make it a goal from the get-go so that it's not lost amongst everything else we want to do. Ft Nelson is a small town so baby and I will be walking to alot of places come summer!

Long, Long Term Goal

1. Buy a house - I'm guessing we are a couple years off from this based on our current debt situation and goals for our savings. I'm hoping that 2009 can be the year that we save up a huge downpayment and find our dream house.

2. Get Married in the Dominican Republic - Well the plan was that we would have this done before baby but...that didn't happen. So in a year or so we want to sneak away and get it done. Whether baby comes with us our stays with an Auntie or Grandma I don't know. I think we'll tell our baby's Aunties and Grandmas to save their pennies and come with us so that someone can babysit and I won't have to leave my baby behind, LOL! This is our dream wedding and we won't compromise on it so we will leave it on the planning stage for let's say...2009. We will be close to ten years together then (Holey Moley, that long!?!?!?!?) so it has a nice ring to it!!!

Baby Names, Spelling etc.

As many of you are aware we have no plans to find out the sex of the baby. Therefore we are planning for either/or. I am not a fan of weird spelled names and cool names etc. We don't want our kid picked on because we had a complex about keeping up with the Joneses. Therefore we stuck to two-syallable, easily spelled names. So drumroll please!!!!

If it's a girl : Reese Melissa Grounds

If it's a boy: Ethan Thomas Grounds

First names are just names we like, middle names are for people. Melissa is for my best friend for the last 17 or so years. Thomas is a family name for the men in my family, my Dads middle name, his Dad's first name...

Christmas Travels

Well you can read about the fun we had just a few posts below this. Hardisty and Vegreville were where we went. (Say that fast 10 times)

What did Santa Bring Us?

Santa brought us a wonderful time with friends and family, lots of laughs and memories. Presents aren't a huge deal to us and we don't make a big deal out of them. However we did receive a few items that we love and would like to show on here. This isn't everything and doesn't meant that we don't appreciate everything we've been given!!!

This was a Baby/Christmas gift that my best friend Melissa gave us. I LOVE it and can't wait to put it in the baby's room!

This is a mini album that my sister Mary made out of a Starbucks coffee sleeve. I sent her a link to the idea, I found it online and wanted to make them but alas there is no Starbucks up here!!! So this is a couple of pics of the one that she made. She made on to go out with all her Christmas cards this year and also gave me a BOX of Starbucks coffee sleeves so I could make my own!

This is one of the gifts that Mom gave us this year. She gave us a bottle of wine with it that we had to leave at her house because we weren't sure it would make it home on the plane with the pressure and the cold and didn't want to risk it exploding. It is a really nice set that all matches and perfect for our collection of wine items.