Trick or Treat!

I got the chance to take our nephew Konrad trick or treating tonight and it was well worth the walk in the cold weather! Jon and I went for supper at Erich and Naomi's after work and after eating, Naomi and I bundled up the kids in their very cute Halloween costumes and headed out the door to collect some serious candy.


Konrad was SO funny...he very nicely said "Trick or treat!" at every door and politely said "Thank-you!" He even said the occasional "See you later, alligator!" to a few of the neighbours! What a kid!? It was also just fun seeing how excited he was since he actually understood the concept of trick or treating this year. He is only 2 1/2 but he definitely understands what candy is and that he wants it! :) We even emptied out his pail at home half way through our route because his pail was getting too heavy and he wanted to have room for more. :)
Here are a few pictures of the kids. What a fun evening!

Konrad waited so patiently while we got ready...


Quote from Konrad: "Cheeeeeese Auntie Bonnie!"...he knows exactly what to do when the camera comes out!

Is this not a kissable giraffe or what!?


Happy Halloween!

Autumn has arrived...

Fall is definitely here for us in BC. It really hit me this week, that our hot summer days are gone for another year, and fall is here to replace it. I do love the summer and could handle hot weather all year round, but every time autumn comes, I realize that it is without a doubt, my favorite season. And fall is different for us this year. Now that we are living out in the country, we see so much more of God's beautiful creation and its incredible to watch the leaves change. I have been blown away by God's attention to detail in nature every time I drive down our little windy, country road on my way home from work. The street is lined with HUGE trees with vibrant leaves of orange, and red and yellow. It is simply amazing.
The other thing I love about fall is the crisp air. I love it when its not warm, but its not cold and you just need to wear a sweater outside... I am a lover of sweaters. And the smell. Everything smells so fresh....so new....so refreshing.
I went for a walk down our road today, and as I breathed in the fresh air, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with God's goodness. He didn't have to create this world, but He chose to and He makes it beautiful for us to enjoy. And by that, I am truly blessed.

Here's a verse I read this morning that I thought was encouraging:

"In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."
Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

I've had a lot of "stuff" to think through lately--I guess you could even say I've been wrestling with God about some things in my life that are completely out of my hands. I'm the kind of person who likes to feel in control of my life, and lately, its been very apparent that I need to lose this attitude and just wait on God. I hate waiting...probably one of my LEAST favorite things to do, but the more I think and the more I pray and the more I "wrestle"...the more I realize that I need to talk with Him, let Him know what is going on in my head and in my heart, and then just WAIT. Now I just pray that God will give me the patience to do so and to trust that in the end, this "stuff" will all work itself out.

The Weekend

Jon and I spent the day at Granville Island on Saturday...

...the air was crisp but the sun was shining and we had a wonderful time! Isn't autumn a great time of year!?






The usual Granville "Live Entertainment"...

Dinner at Sammy J Pepper's in Granville...very tasty!


Sunday we spent with Jon's family...



I can't believe how much the kids are growing up! Ava is such a "smiler" now...

Typical Late Night

A lot can happen on a Friday night...things get a little goofy as time rolls on...11:00pm....11:43pm.....12:22am.....and Brianne & Bonnie have the giggles...to say the very least! Time for some pictures...









(Posted by Bonnie & Brianne, late Friday night)
(Note: Doesn't Brianne's new hair cut look HOT!!?)

"Me" Time

Well, its been an interesting week for me. As many of you know, my boss has been away on a lovely Meditteranean Cruise since October 5 and doesn't return until October 30. This means that I have been working on my own at the office and seeing as quite a few of our projects are behind schedule, there hasn't been too much to do. So, I've only been working Thursdays and Fridays while she's away. I did pick up a few extra shifts at Chilliwack Decorating but this week, I only worked there on Monday. That meant I had Tuesday and Wednesday off. Two days off...IN A ROW!! I thought I was in heaven. Now don't get me wrong. I love my job, but life gets so busy with working all the time and trying to get stuff done in the evenings, that it doesn't leave much "me" time. When I was in high school, I really didn't see the need for "me" time--I was far more concerned with keeping up my "social butterfly" reputation and being in on all the action with my friends. But as I get older, I realize more and more, just how much I value time alone.
So yes, I very much enjoyed my days off. I did a little shopping with my sister on Tuesday and then spent Wednesday just doing a bit of grocery shopping (which I actually HATE most of the time...but we needed food), and then took the rest of the afternoon to do something that I am growing to love, but don't get much time for....painting. My friend Lauren actually was the one who convinced me to start painting and now I just love it. I find it so relaxing and its fun to let my imagination run free. Now I am definitely not a painting artist by any means, but it is still fun. Especially because I have always been into sketching and doing pencil drawings. Painting is a nice change from that.
And today, I technically had another day off. I only worked about 4 hours at the office this morning and since there was nothing else pressing, I decided to come home early. So in the way of work, I don't really feel that I have put a week in but alas, it is Friday and I am excited about that. Todd and Brianne are coming over for movie night tonight and I think we may go into Vancouver tomorrow. Weekend life is great!
Welp...I guess I don't really have anything else to report and I do need to go get some homework done before the "troops" arrive! So, have a great weekend everyone...enjoy the sunshine all you BC'ers...its supposed to be a hot one!

Shop 'til we drop

Everyone knows how woman love to shop, and for the most part, men do not. So on Saturday, Brianne and I decided to leave our husbands in Abby to do what they like to do (ie: what action movies and play vids), while we headed to Bellingham, Washington for some good ol' fashioned shopping. And what a great time we had! Bellis Fair Mall was definitely good to us.
We both got some great stuff...a little AeroPostale, American Eagle, and most importantly...some sweet $6.98 Beatles t-shirts from our favorite place, Target. (You'll see us sporting our new shirts in the picture below). Ah, there is truly nothing better than shopping on a dreary Saturday afternoon...we made some great memories, hey Brianne!? It really is too bad we didn't get pictures of "the black skirt!" ;)



We ended our U.S. excursion with a visit to the DQ drive thru in Lynden...where we were unfortunately very disappointed with our blizzards. Just a little tip for those of you who get as excited about their cheap blizzard prices in the States as we did---the ice-cream is TERRIBLE! And there's NO way that they could flip the blizzards upside-down like they're supposed to---it would be one messy ordeal let me tell ya!
Anyway, thankfully the people at the border crossings were surprisingly kind and didn't make us pay duty on anything...pheeww! But I almost blew that for us by not being "precise" on how much I spent...that was a close call!

The day ended with pizza and a movie with the boys...and some great guacamole, courtesy of chef Brianne---you really did do a great job! :)


Pretty sweet shirts hey!?

Another day, another dollar...hopefully

So I went on my first official "solo" job today. I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty nervous on the drive there, but thankfully the nerves settled when I arrived. I had to head to Hope to do a colour consultation as well as a show suite for a new gated community development. The colour consultation went very well actually. It was for a really nice elderly couple who wanted to "spice up their home" with some new paint, hardwood floors & new kitchen countertop. They had already decided on their flooring but I helped with the paint colours and countertop...hopefully they'll enjoy the "spice" I suggested :)

After my colour consult, I headed over to the very beautiful Kawkawa Lakeside Homes. My boss Kathy had done all the interior design for the homes quite some time ago, but they had sold the show suite and now needed it redone in a new suite. So, all the furniture and accessories were in the suite when I got there---I just had to try to make it all look pretty! It was quite overwhelming at first because there was just a mess of furniture and nick-nacks and I hadn't seen what the old show suite looked like...it was tough to know where to begin. But once I started moving the couches and arranging the artwork, I think it came together alright. Hopefully they'll be happy with it! :) I must admit...I have a pretty sweet job!





Check out the view from the living room...I think I could handle living here!