I went to start a new blog today because I was liking the idea of writing out some of my chaotic thoughts and happenings of the last little while. I went onto blogger, and realized that I never did write part 2 of my bittersweet post. So here is Part 2. When I wrote the last post we had sold our home at 23 St. Remy Dr. and were moving into what had been our rental home. We have now been at our "rental" home for just over 1 year. It's crazy what can happen in a year. And the craziest part is that I didn't even realize all we had done until I have begun to sit back and ponder what to write for this post.
The bitter part of our move was that we had to move at all. I loved that house, it had been our first family home. Both Clayton and Cooper our 2 older boys were born while we were there. And we had begun to make it into a home that we really loved and could see ourselves living in for a long time. Over the past year or so, Clayton has said a couple of times that he misses that house. When I ask him why, he usually says because it was bigger and he had more space. Which are very good reasons. We definitely downsized...I miss our backyard, and all of the gardens that we had. I miss the pool for the boys, I miss our "mancave'. Like crazy, I miss our neighbors. They are some really incredible people. I miss having a babysitter right there, who was AMAZING. It was a good place to be.
However there is a sweet part too. We had to move, largely because of financial reasons, we had gotten ourselves into a really bad spot, and the best solution at the time was to sell the house to be able to use the equity to be able to pay off as much debt as we possible could. And that we did!! We paid down a lot of our debt and were able to start saving. Which is awesome. It feels really good to be able to breath again financially.
Ben and I were both also really feeling the need to simplify, and that has been sweet as well. While we were living at St. Remy, we both had a lot on our plates. Ben was in the middle of building a business, he was working a lot, and learning a lot about what being a business owner really meant. I had 2 small babies at home, which in itself is crazy! We were running the B and B, which was awesome, but again it took time and energy. And we still had a rental property. We didn't really have a lot of time to breath and something needed to give. When we moved into our Baseline property, life did become simpler. We no longer had a B and B or a rental property. The house is smaller and therefore it is much easier to clean and maintain!!! But I think more importantly Ben and I have used our "free" time to think, to be with our family and to really get to know what it is that we actually want out of our life. Ben and I have had a tendency to chase the next shiny thing that came our way that sounded good, but I really believe that over the last year we clarified who we are, what is important to us and what we are going to do to achieve our dreams and goals. Knowing these things is incredibly freeing. It has allowed us to grow and become stronger.
I have had a chance to read some really good books. There is nothing like a good book, a cozy blanket and a hot chocolate. While this may sound trivial,,,I honestly had not been able to sit down and enjoy a good book for the last 2 years. I have been able to grow and spend time with the relationships that are so important to me; friends, husband, kids and family. We have had the time to repaint and decorate the house the way that we want it to. I ran a 1/2 marathon. Ben has been able to totally focus in on his business and has had his best year yet! The boys have been able to get out skiing. Clayton played soccer this summer. Both of the boys have been able to enjoy swimming lessons. And we have had a new baby girl!! Ally Joan, joined our little family December 23, 2014. We started going to new church, which has been one of the best changes we have made this year. It has really challenged and strengthened our faith.
So yes while we did have to leave a home that we loved, I think that the sweet parts have totally outweighed the bitter parts. I am truly thankful for all of the lessons that we have learned over the last 2 years, and I don't think that we would be where we are today without the challenges that we faced. The sweet parts have become what is truly important to us, and we have actually been able to devote our time to them. I do thank God for the way that he has brought us to where we are today and I can't wait to see what the next 2 years will bring our family!!!!!
"I know for sure: your journey begins with a choice to get up, step our and live fully." Oprah Winfrey
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Monday, November 4, 2013
Bittersweet - Part 1
Our time with the Greentruck Bed and Breakftast has come to an end. It has been an incredible journey for the past 2 years, and I am thankful for every moment of it. But it is now time to move on. For the past 8 months Ben and I have been trying to sell at least one of our homes. Originally we wanted to sell our rental property, here in Ottawa. However after 3 offers fell through, and a month or 2 with little to no bites we decided that instead of selling the rental house we would sell our home at 23 St. Remy Dr. The main reason that we wanted to sell anything in the first place was to be able to simplify our lives. A lot has happened in the last 5 years, our lives have changed and what we were doing before, simply is not what we want or need right now. Ben and I have had rental properties since our 2nd year of marriage(we will be married 10 years next summer). It is something that brought us an income, and I didn't mind taking care of the properties. Ben is also pretty handy, so he was able to look after a lot of the repairs.
However in February 2010 we had a little boy, and our lives changed forever. I was busy with Clayton, and trying to figure out how to be a mom. My life had changed in every possible way. The job that I loved and worked hard at, became very different, mostly because I was in a different state of mind. My job was no longer my number one focus. I had an amazing little boy to look after, and being stressed out at work was no longer worth it. I did go back to work between having Cooper and Clayton, but after Cooper I did not return to work. During this time I was still able to look after the rental properties, and we still had tenants who were paying. So having a rental property was still worth it. It was also right around the time that Cooper was born that we did all of the renos on our home and started the B and B.
The second major change in our lives during this time was that Ben changed jobs. And while we didn't think at the time that it would be so life changing, we now realize that it has been life changing. Ben's work has become a lifestyle for us. One that we love and one that we want to continue to pursue in every possible way. Ben's income has drastically increased, we travel more then we ever have before, and we have met some very amazing like minded people!
At the beginning of last year, we had our tenants leave, and they left the house a disaster and decided not to pay us rent for the last 3 months. While at the same time the tenant in our basement apartment decided that he didn't need to pay rent anymore. Both of these incidents cost us a lot of money, and we had just put an addition on our home. We were stressed about money. The rental income we had come to rely on was no longer there. And we had used up all of our reserves to fix up the rental property, and cover for the months without rent. I wasn't working outside of the home, and Ben's business was just starting to pick up.
The B and B during this time was a constant source of peace and encouragement. And it seemed that every time we needed just a little bit more money, we would have another guest come and stay at our home. It has been truly amazing to see how God has used the B and B to teach us 1001 things. The people that came and stayed with us, have been incredible. We have met people from all over Europe and Canada. One of our favorite guests were people from Germany. They stayed at our place for 2 weeks. We not only served them breakfast, but also ended up having a couple of dinners and beers with them. And they even took my sheets off the line when it started to rain and I wasn't home. They just became a part of our little family while they were here. We got to know them quite well, and when we go to Germany we will definitely be going to visit them. We had guests come who gave us gifts. They left us a pretzel kit and some yummy chocolates from their home town. They were really sweet ladies.
We had guests who stayed at our place a couple of times. There was one family who we really resonated with because they also had 2 boys. And it was super fun to swap stories with them. The old couples were the best. There was one couple who stayed here because they were visiting their grand daughters, and they wanted to skate the canal from end to end. And this man did it! I swear he was at least 65, he did it and his grand daughters didn't! He was a feisty one.
We had one older woman, who fell in love with our boys. I think that she had tears in her eyes as CJ gave her a hug when she went to leave. She was so happy that he gave her a hug! The couple who stayed with us last weekend gave us a huge compliment. They obviously noticed that our house was for sale, and they said after visiting with us for a couple of hours that they wished us the best with our future endeavors and were sure that no matter what we did next we would succeed and we would do it well. It made me cry, because I believe that God was giving us one last parting blessing....
Stay tuned for Part 2
However in February 2010 we had a little boy, and our lives changed forever. I was busy with Clayton, and trying to figure out how to be a mom. My life had changed in every possible way. The job that I loved and worked hard at, became very different, mostly because I was in a different state of mind. My job was no longer my number one focus. I had an amazing little boy to look after, and being stressed out at work was no longer worth it. I did go back to work between having Cooper and Clayton, but after Cooper I did not return to work. During this time I was still able to look after the rental properties, and we still had tenants who were paying. So having a rental property was still worth it. It was also right around the time that Cooper was born that we did all of the renos on our home and started the B and B.
The second major change in our lives during this time was that Ben changed jobs. And while we didn't think at the time that it would be so life changing, we now realize that it has been life changing. Ben's work has become a lifestyle for us. One that we love and one that we want to continue to pursue in every possible way. Ben's income has drastically increased, we travel more then we ever have before, and we have met some very amazing like minded people!
At the beginning of last year, we had our tenants leave, and they left the house a disaster and decided not to pay us rent for the last 3 months. While at the same time the tenant in our basement apartment decided that he didn't need to pay rent anymore. Both of these incidents cost us a lot of money, and we had just put an addition on our home. We were stressed about money. The rental income we had come to rely on was no longer there. And we had used up all of our reserves to fix up the rental property, and cover for the months without rent. I wasn't working outside of the home, and Ben's business was just starting to pick up.
The B and B during this time was a constant source of peace and encouragement. And it seemed that every time we needed just a little bit more money, we would have another guest come and stay at our home. It has been truly amazing to see how God has used the B and B to teach us 1001 things. The people that came and stayed with us, have been incredible. We have met people from all over Europe and Canada. One of our favorite guests were people from Germany. They stayed at our place for 2 weeks. We not only served them breakfast, but also ended up having a couple of dinners and beers with them. And they even took my sheets off the line when it started to rain and I wasn't home. They just became a part of our little family while they were here. We got to know them quite well, and when we go to Germany we will definitely be going to visit them. We had guests come who gave us gifts. They left us a pretzel kit and some yummy chocolates from their home town. They were really sweet ladies.
We had guests who stayed at our place a couple of times. There was one family who we really resonated with because they also had 2 boys. And it was super fun to swap stories with them. The old couples were the best. There was one couple who stayed here because they were visiting their grand daughters, and they wanted to skate the canal from end to end. And this man did it! I swear he was at least 65, he did it and his grand daughters didn't! He was a feisty one.
We had one older woman, who fell in love with our boys. I think that she had tears in her eyes as CJ gave her a hug when she went to leave. She was so happy that he gave her a hug! The couple who stayed with us last weekend gave us a huge compliment. They obviously noticed that our house was for sale, and they said after visiting with us for a couple of hours that they wished us the best with our future endeavors and were sure that no matter what we did next we would succeed and we would do it well. It made me cry, because I believe that God was giving us one last parting blessing....
Stay tuned for Part 2
July 2013
Not really sure why I hadn't posted this one yet. But here is an update from July. Enjoy!
Wow, it is July already. Summer is in full force here in Ottawa, we had some serious hot, humid, sticky weather last week. I think there were a couple of days that got up to 40 degrees celsius! I personally love the heat. One of the best feelings in the world is being able to hang out outside with a glass of wine, in my garden, at 10pm at night, with my shorts and t-shirt still on. I don't have to grab a sweater, and there is no chill in the air. Love it.
The B and B has been slower this year than last. But it has still been great, at the end of June we had my aunt and uncle and their 3 kids come to our place and stay for a couple of nights. It was a ton of fun hanging out with them! My cousins are awesome kids! I am not entirely sure of their ages, but they were old to enough to take care of our kids quite a bit. They were super polite, and just a ton of fun. I had asked Clayton to get dressed for the day and when I went into his room about 3 minutes later, to see if he needed help, he was actually dressed!!!! That never happens, but Alicia, the eldest cousin, had helped Clayton choose his clothes and get ready. It was awesome! Thanks!!!
And we have had one other guest come in during July. They were super sweet! Overall I do wish it were slightly busier, but we don't have air conditioning, so it's probably a good thing that no one has come. They may not have enjoyed July too much had they stayed!
So you know the phrase "terrible twos", well in my experience it has been the "terrible threes"! Clayton was GREAT while he was 2. He had his moments of course, but overall he was pretty easy going, and listened well. However 3 is another story. Lately he has been saying NO a lot. And he screams when he doesn't get his way. And whines,, oh my goodness. I didn't know the whining would be so bad. Clayton has also stopped napping, which is good when it comes to bedtime b/c he goes to bed without fighting me. However when 4pm rolls around it it total chaos. Nothing is good enough and he fights me about EVERYTHING!!! Sheeshh,,, it has been a tough couple of weeks trying to get used to this whole new boy. I love the child very dearly, but I have had to learn about patience. I have learned a bunch about communicating with a 3 year old. Which I guess these are good outcomes, but the ride has been a tough one. It's a good thing that I love my kids so incredible much and that they are so darned cute! But seriously if anyone has any suggestions about how to deal with crazy 3 year olds, I am all ears!
Okay so here's a super cute story, the other day, I was getting quite frustrated with Clayton, I was yelling at him and just trying to get him to stop whining, but nothing seemed to be working. Anyways, Cooper realized that I was quite frustrated, and he made me pick him up, and then he grabbed my cheek, made me look at him, and then he gave me the biggest smile ever and honked my nose!! (something that we do a lot and always makes both of us laugh) Man it was awesome, it made both Clayton and I become happier and stop getting angry with each other.
Monday, April 29, 2013
An update for Greentruck B and B for March/April
Ok, so this is a post I started a while ago, and just never finished and posted. So it's a bit dated, but I hope you enjoy it anyways.
I realized the other day that I hadn't blogged in a really long time! Wow, time flies. The last time I posted, it was just after a beautiful snowfall that made our yard look like a winter wonderland. Well it's now 2 months later, and our backyard still looks like a winter wonderland! It's March 22nd and we are still feeling very wintery in Ottawa. Last year at this time I can remember the kids playing in the backyard with no socks or shoes on. The temperature was in the high 20's and it was very summery, unfortunately we have not had such good luck this year. The winter here in Ottawa, has been long, it's been beautiful but long. I am very much looking forward to the warm weather and the kids being able to play outside without having to pack them up for 20 minutes first!
March was a busy month for Greentruck B and B. Over the course of the month we had 12 nights booked! Which was awesome. In December, January and February combined we only had 5 nights booked! I think that Ottawa is a little more appealing to tourists and travelers in the spring/summer than it is in the winter. Opening the B and B has always been something that I felt that God has put on my heart to do, I know it might not make sense to some, but I am not really sure how else to explain it, and again having March be busy made me realize, how much joy it brings us and how it provides for us when we really need it! It's been a crazy experience, but one that I value and will never regret!
I can tell you about some of our most recent guests, this past weekend we had a colleague of Ben's stay with us. It was really great, we got to spend some time with him, just hanging out and getting to know him better. He also got to see the crazy side of our children! They love to "swim" which means they jump from our coffee table onto the couches, in their "swimming suits"(underwear) It was really funny!!
Then we had some people from Germany. They were here visiting family that lived close to us. They were some of the nicest people that have stayed with us. We had an older couple stay here for Winterlude. They came with their teenage daughters and skated the entire length of the canal! It was on this gentlemen's bucket list to do, and he did it! He was probably at least 60. And then we had a gentleman who was here on business. He was working on the light rail project in Ottawa, he had to be at work for 7am, so I had to have breakfast for 6:30am, sheesh I was tired that week!! I think that I say this every time that I write in my blog, but I just love meeting these people and hearing their stories. Ben said it best the other day, having breakfast with people is such a great way to start of your day. It means you start it off by hearing stories, laughing and truly sharing your lives with other people! So neat.
As I have been thinking about what I need to update on my blog, I am kind of blown away by how much has happened in the last couple of months. So Ben and I have been on this 18 month challenge that has been put on by his company, World Financial Group. And it has been CRAZY! It has been super amazing in that we have challenged ourselves more than we thought possible. We have pushed ourselves to new limits. We have done things that we didn't think were possible. It's absolutely amazing! So far there have been 2 contests to win during the challenge, and Ben and his amazing team have achieved them both. These were challenges that allowed Ben to do more with his team and his business then he has ever been able to before. It's pretty cool! Thanks to Ben we are heading to San Francisco in 2 weeks!! I can't wait, not only are we going to be mentored and trained by one of the wealthiest and most respected men in our company, but we get to spend 2 days hanging out in San Francisco. I can't wait!
And now we are back to real time. We have gone to San Francisco, and it was amazing. What an awesome city. It's really unique, and there is so much to see and do. We spent a bunch of time walking around just seeing San Francisco. We biked across the golden gate bridge. It was magnificent. It's HUGE! We walked around Sausulito. We saw the sea lions on Pier 39, Ben especially liked that. We drove down Lombard street, which is the steepest and curviest street that I have ever been on! We walked through China town, which really felt like we were in China.(I have never been, but it is what I would expect China to be like)
After seeing San Francisco we went down to Aptos, and we were mentored by one of the giants of our company. I can't imagine a better way to spend 2 days. We went to his beach house, which had absolutely amazing views of the ocean. So while we were learning about how to become the best that we could be, and how to grow a business and be challenged in our faith, we were watching the most peaceful view I have seen in a long time. All in all I would definitely say that this was a trip of a lifetime.
Since then life has been more fulfilled, more challenging, and more exciting then ever. Ben and I have both gotten more clarity on what we want in our lives, and what is truly important in our lives. And that clarity has spilled out into every aspect of what we do. Into how we raise our kids, into how we build relationships, into how we work, and how we play. The B and B has been awesome. We have had a couple of guests stay in April, and I would have to say that our last guest was the most enjoyable guest we have had this year. The people who stayed here were just very interesting and had some really neat things to say, but they were also very calm and peaceful to be around and chat with. It was really, really neat.
Our kids are amazing! Yesterday we spent the whole day with them. It was the first hot and sunny day that Ottawa has seen this spring, and we took full advantage of it! We gardened, and played in the sandbox, we went for a long bike ride, we went for a picnic, we visited with some family, we played and then played some more outside! Both Ben and I just relaxed and enjoyed the company of our kids, and all that they are. Cooper is just the sweetest little boy, he has a smile that will make your heart melt, and Clayton will just make you laugh until your stomach hurts because he is so silly!
Well that's about it for now!! I hope you enjoyed the read, and I will leave you with some pictures!
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I realized the other day that I hadn't blogged in a really long time! Wow, time flies. The last time I posted, it was just after a beautiful snowfall that made our yard look like a winter wonderland. Well it's now 2 months later, and our backyard still looks like a winter wonderland! It's March 22nd and we are still feeling very wintery in Ottawa. Last year at this time I can remember the kids playing in the backyard with no socks or shoes on. The temperature was in the high 20's and it was very summery, unfortunately we have not had such good luck this year. The winter here in Ottawa, has been long, it's been beautiful but long. I am very much looking forward to the warm weather and the kids being able to play outside without having to pack them up for 20 minutes first!
March was a busy month for Greentruck B and B. Over the course of the month we had 12 nights booked! Which was awesome. In December, January and February combined we only had 5 nights booked! I think that Ottawa is a little more appealing to tourists and travelers in the spring/summer than it is in the winter. Opening the B and B has always been something that I felt that God has put on my heart to do, I know it might not make sense to some, but I am not really sure how else to explain it, and again having March be busy made me realize, how much joy it brings us and how it provides for us when we really need it! It's been a crazy experience, but one that I value and will never regret!
I can tell you about some of our most recent guests, this past weekend we had a colleague of Ben's stay with us. It was really great, we got to spend some time with him, just hanging out and getting to know him better. He also got to see the crazy side of our children! They love to "swim" which means they jump from our coffee table onto the couches, in their "swimming suits"(underwear) It was really funny!!
Then we had some people from Germany. They were here visiting family that lived close to us. They were some of the nicest people that have stayed with us. We had an older couple stay here for Winterlude. They came with their teenage daughters and skated the entire length of the canal! It was on this gentlemen's bucket list to do, and he did it! He was probably at least 60. And then we had a gentleman who was here on business. He was working on the light rail project in Ottawa, he had to be at work for 7am, so I had to have breakfast for 6:30am, sheesh I was tired that week!! I think that I say this every time that I write in my blog, but I just love meeting these people and hearing their stories. Ben said it best the other day, having breakfast with people is such a great way to start of your day. It means you start it off by hearing stories, laughing and truly sharing your lives with other people! So neat.
As I have been thinking about what I need to update on my blog, I am kind of blown away by how much has happened in the last couple of months. So Ben and I have been on this 18 month challenge that has been put on by his company, World Financial Group. And it has been CRAZY! It has been super amazing in that we have challenged ourselves more than we thought possible. We have pushed ourselves to new limits. We have done things that we didn't think were possible. It's absolutely amazing! So far there have been 2 contests to win during the challenge, and Ben and his amazing team have achieved them both. These were challenges that allowed Ben to do more with his team and his business then he has ever been able to before. It's pretty cool! Thanks to Ben we are heading to San Francisco in 2 weeks!! I can't wait, not only are we going to be mentored and trained by one of the wealthiest and most respected men in our company, but we get to spend 2 days hanging out in San Francisco. I can't wait!
And now we are back to real time. We have gone to San Francisco, and it was amazing. What an awesome city. It's really unique, and there is so much to see and do. We spent a bunch of time walking around just seeing San Francisco. We biked across the golden gate bridge. It was magnificent. It's HUGE! We walked around Sausulito. We saw the sea lions on Pier 39, Ben especially liked that. We drove down Lombard street, which is the steepest and curviest street that I have ever been on! We walked through China town, which really felt like we were in China.(I have never been, but it is what I would expect China to be like)
After seeing San Francisco we went down to Aptos, and we were mentored by one of the giants of our company. I can't imagine a better way to spend 2 days. We went to his beach house, which had absolutely amazing views of the ocean. So while we were learning about how to become the best that we could be, and how to grow a business and be challenged in our faith, we were watching the most peaceful view I have seen in a long time. All in all I would definitely say that this was a trip of a lifetime.
Since then life has been more fulfilled, more challenging, and more exciting then ever. Ben and I have both gotten more clarity on what we want in our lives, and what is truly important in our lives. And that clarity has spilled out into every aspect of what we do. Into how we raise our kids, into how we build relationships, into how we work, and how we play. The B and B has been awesome. We have had a couple of guests stay in April, and I would have to say that our last guest was the most enjoyable guest we have had this year. The people who stayed here were just very interesting and had some really neat things to say, but they were also very calm and peaceful to be around and chat with. It was really, really neat.
Our kids are amazing! Yesterday we spent the whole day with them. It was the first hot and sunny day that Ottawa has seen this spring, and we took full advantage of it! We gardened, and played in the sandbox, we went for a long bike ride, we went for a picnic, we visited with some family, we played and then played some more outside! Both Ben and I just relaxed and enjoyed the company of our kids, and all that they are. Cooper is just the sweetest little boy, he has a smile that will make your heart melt, and Clayton will just make you laugh until your stomach hurts because he is so silly!
Well that's about it for now!! I hope you enjoyed the read, and I will leave you with some pictures!
Friday, December 28, 2012
Winter Wonderland
This Christmas we got over 2 feet of snow! It is absolutely beautiful. We live on a pretty quiet street that has a lot of mature trees. So going for a walk or a drive is just amazing, the snow on the evergreens is magical. Yes it does make it a little bit more difficult to drive, but it is truly beautiful. I often think that I would love to live somewhere warm for the whole year, but when we get a snowfall like this one, I just know that I would miss having the snow. The snow is also a lot of fun to play in. The snow banks are really high, they are definitely taller than my oldest son Clayton. Clayton and Cooper stayed overnight with their grandparents this week, the night that we got a lot of snow. My dad and Clayton went outside to play in it, and Clayton literally couldn't walk in the snow, so my dad ended up putting him in a really big snow shovel and pushed him around! I wish they had got a picture! Ben set up a slide in our backyard, and a path to the slide, so the kids have had a blast going up and down that. The same morning that the kids were at my parents place, Ben and I went for a long snowshoe. We went to a place in Ottawa called Bruce Pit. You can walk your dogs in there, and there are a lot of different paths. Ben and I didn't want to go on the beaten paths, since we had snowshoes, we figured we should make our own. At one point we had no idea where we were, we thought we were headed towards our car, however when we asked a couple of guys that we ran into, they said we were going in the complete opposite direction!! Oops!!! The snow was so fluffy and light, and the trees were very picturesque, at times it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains somewhere. It was great and a nice treat to be kid free for a while.
Previously I have posted pictures of Ben's man cave, in the fall, but here it is in the winter. Doesn't it look cozy? It also gives you a good idea of just how much snow fell this week.
This is the view of the backyard from the Maple Room. Today was a perfect day with the clear blue sky, and the sun shining!
This room is really great at this time of year because there is a fireplace. It is so warm and cozy being able to sit inside by the fireplace, with a good book, and just look out at the view. I could spend hours in here!
One of the coolest things about Ottawa during the winter is Winterlude. This is a festival that celebrates winter. In Ottawa there is the Rideau Canal, and in the winter it is the world's largest natural skating rink. One of the biggest attractions for Winterlude is to go for a skate on the canal, and while you go for a skate, you can't leave without getting a beavertail. This is another Ottawa tradition It's a pastry that typically has cinnamon and sugar on it. There is nothing like skating and then warming up with a beavertail and a hot chocolate. The beavertail gets just a little crispy from the cold, but still warm.....mmm so good.
There are a lot of other things to do in Ottawa during Winterlude, but the other 2 more popular attractions are the ice sculptures, and Jacques Cartier park. If you are in town you definitely need to check them out! The festival runs for almost three weeks in February. Febraury 1 to 18! For more information check out the website,
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/celebrate/winterlude
And of course our Bed and Breakfast would be the perfect place to stay while enjoying the fun of Winterlude!
http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/celebrate/winterlude
Happy New Year!!!!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Christmas Time
Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a great time to be with friends and family. There is always a lot of good food to be had. I looove food, so that is very exciting for me. If there is snow, it's usually very beautiful, especially the snow covered evergreens. The decorations are beautiful. There are always a lot of fun parties happening! And most importantly we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I think that our pastor on Sunday morning said it best, God did not send Christ, so that we could have a holiday. God sent us Christ so that we could have life! A life full of love, grace, hope and peace!
This past weekend we started off our Christmas season with a bang! We had 2 potlucks. One was at our church. It was a lot of fun. There is always good food and a ton of laughs to be had. This year we had a photo booth, with props for people to put on to take their pictures in. There were santas, and elves, and reindeers!! It was hilarious! Then on Sunday, Ben and I hosted a Christmas party for Ben's team. It was great. This is the first year that we had our own team party. We had over 25 people come!!! That means our team is growing and that we have some really amazing people in our lives who we are getting know, and who we are having a ton of fun working with! The food was also amazing; there was some chicken that was just incredible, as well as some homemade dumplings! So good.
For our party of Sunday I decorated our house all Christmasy and stuff. Here are some of the decorations that I put together this year. This is an idea that I got off of Pinterest. It's not exactly what they had, but I was working with thing that I had in my house. I didn't want to have to go out and buy more things. I love it because it was easy to do. All I had to do was spray paint some wine bottles we had around the house, and then put some pretty flowers in.
I think that this is the smallest Christmas tree, that we have ever gotten. But it fits perfectly in the space. After getting this smaller one, I am not sure why I ever felt the need to get a bigger Christmas tree. They just take up a lot more space. Clayton helped us decorate this year. He was so excited to help! It was great! He put all the hooks on the decorations, and he put the beautiful "star" on top, his choice...
Here you will see our stockings. We really only had(have) three, but it didn't seem right not to have anything up for Cooper, so we added an Elmo slipper that we had lying around the house for him! It's so little and cute!! Today a friend of mine asked Clayton what he wanted to get from Santa Claus, and Clayton's answer was that he wanted a stocking to put on his foot!!! The story behind that is while we were putting up the stockings Ben put his on his foot like a sock, and then of course Clayton proceeded to put his stocking on his foot. Monkey, see monkey do right. Anyways I guess Clayton thought that was pretty cool, and that was what Santa would be doing with the stockings.. I am not sure he fully gets Santa yet....
Anyways I hope you enjoyed the blog today! I really do hope that you enjoy your Christmas season, and that you have a ton of fun while you are celebrating this absolutely wonderful time of year! And if anyone would like to come on over for some breakfast just let me know, we would love to have you over! Blessings!
This past weekend we started off our Christmas season with a bang! We had 2 potlucks. One was at our church. It was a lot of fun. There is always good food and a ton of laughs to be had. This year we had a photo booth, with props for people to put on to take their pictures in. There were santas, and elves, and reindeers!! It was hilarious! Then on Sunday, Ben and I hosted a Christmas party for Ben's team. It was great. This is the first year that we had our own team party. We had over 25 people come!!! That means our team is growing and that we have some really amazing people in our lives who we are getting know, and who we are having a ton of fun working with! The food was also amazing; there was some chicken that was just incredible, as well as some homemade dumplings! So good.
For our party of Sunday I decorated our house all Christmasy and stuff. Here are some of the decorations that I put together this year. This is an idea that I got off of Pinterest. It's not exactly what they had, but I was working with thing that I had in my house. I didn't want to have to go out and buy more things. I love it because it was easy to do. All I had to do was spray paint some wine bottles we had around the house, and then put some pretty flowers in.
Here you will see our stockings. We really only had(have) three, but it didn't seem right not to have anything up for Cooper, so we added an Elmo slipper that we had lying around the house for him! It's so little and cute!! Today a friend of mine asked Clayton what he wanted to get from Santa Claus, and Clayton's answer was that he wanted a stocking to put on his foot!!! The story behind that is while we were putting up the stockings Ben put his on his foot like a sock, and then of course Clayton proceeded to put his stocking on his foot. Monkey, see monkey do right. Anyways I guess Clayton thought that was pretty cool, and that was what Santa would be doing with the stockings.. I am not sure he fully gets Santa yet....
Anyways I hope you enjoyed the blog today! I really do hope that you enjoy your Christmas season, and that you have a ton of fun while you are celebrating this absolutely wonderful time of year! And if anyone would like to come on over for some breakfast just let me know, we would love to have you over! Blessings!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Check out the man cave!!!
I am happy to report that Ben's man cave is pretty much done. And it turned out beautifully! Ben said that it is better than he would've expected. The only things that we need to do to it still are painting and decorating. Ben put up a desk that he made out of his old snowboard, I doubted at first that it would work, and that it would look good, but it does. It's actually pretty neat. We painted the walls white, and the railing up on the loft, blue. We are going to for a bit of a seaside theme. Ben still needs to make the coffee table, he has this old skim board that he is going to make into the table. It should be neat too! Ben had his first sleepover in the cabin with Clayton. He said it was good until Clayton woke up at 5 in the morning, and was so excited to be in the cabin. He was like, Dad, we are in the cabin,Dad look at the trees, Dad the railing is up... and he just wouldn't go back to sleep no matter how hard Ben tried to get him to. Too cute!
Also if anyone is ever interested we are renting it out as a Bed and Breakfast room. The loft is super comfy, and it is very cozy. However there is no bathroom so you would have to use the bathroom in our house. But if you ever want a little bit of a different experience please just let me know!!
Here are the pictures. The outside is complete except for a little bit of painting. I learned that you can't paint exterior paint when it's below 10 degrees otherwise it doesn't set properly, and it will chip a lot quicker. So that part has to wait until next spring.
This is another wall. I was going to make this wall a little more decorative and pretty, but Ben found these skis on the side of the road, and thought they would look good. Again, it's pretty neat. It gives the whole cabin a cozy ski lodge type feel.
We painted all of the walls white, and we are going to leave the ceiling it's natural wood color. Again this mirror was found on the side of the road. And you can see the outlets where Ben hooked it up so that we can have a TV in it if we want to.
So ya that's the man cave. It's really awesome. Ben is going to be taking some time off at Christmas and we are going to be hanging out there a whole bunch with the kids, I can't wait!!!
This past weekend we had our first return guests! How cool is that?? I was super excited that people enjoyed their stay so much that they were wanting to stay again! They were a great couple too, they have 2 boys as well, a little older than ours are right now, but the story swapping was great. We learned a thing or two about raising 2 boys.
All in all the B and B is going very well. We still love it and are super excited about what is going to happen with it as time goes on!
If anyone is looking for a place to stay in the Barrhaven area let me know!!! 613-608-0565, or greentruckbandb@gmail.com
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