The King Family

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-10-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. Life has been very busy. We finally settled in our new home in Kelowna and the kids are loving their new schools. Thomas started preschool this year and is doing so well. He's starting to talk and he's much happier here in Kelowna. Thanksgiving weekend we had my in-laws over and also my sister-in-laws fam. It was nice to get together and the kids played the weekend away with their cousins. They are all growing up so fast and getting so big. Where did all the time go?

Here's a picture of Shawn and I. We took everyone to one of the many beaches right by our house. So that's the up date. Life is good!!!

Piano Recital & Art Show

2007-06-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

The girls did so well at there piano recital this past Sunday. They did there songs perfect. It goes so quick though. They sit down, play there song for one minute and then there done. The entire recital was only 1 hour long.
After the recital there was an art show. Julia had her boat picture on display. They had prizes for the best picture in each age group. We didn't realize until after the voting was done that Julia's picture was put in the wrong age category. Her teacher put her picture in with the 9/10 years old. She didn't win but she did get quite a few votes.

Vancouver Zoo with Kailey

2007-06-06T18:08:00.000-07:00

We go to the Vancouver at least2 times per year and the kids love it every time we go like it was there first time. It was a beautiful day and my group of girls were very easy to take care of.

This is my favorite picture of the bunch. This female lion at one point stuck her nose right through the chain link fence and was smelling me. (She must of liked my perfume or she was sizing me up for dinner)

Sold!!!!

2007-05-26T14:51:00.001-07:00

Our house is sold!!! I'm sooooo happy!

May Long Weekend

2007-05-21T18:29:00.001-07:00

This weekend the kids and I went up to Kelowna for a visit. I also had to discuss some things about our house up there with my dad. The kids had a good time. The girls love to visit with my parents and Thomas loves keeping everyone busy. Yesterday we all went to the park and my dad played with Thomas. Those two are so funny together. Anything my dad did with Thomas, he would laugh and get so excited. It was so nice to see him having fun.

My girls played with each from morning to night and got along so well. Don't get me wrong, they do love to push each others buttons once in awhile but not this weekend. It was so nice.

Fun in the Sun!

2007-05-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

Today was such a beautiful day!! The kids loved it. I babysat 3 kids from Kailey's kindergarten class today. They played outside the entire afternoon which was so nice. I was able to sit, relax and read. I did a couple hours of gardening but for me that is also relaxing. Thomas was laughing at the boys diving into his baby pool.
Kailey and her buddy Lexine.
Joey and Jeff showing off as boys do so well.
Having some KD and Sunny D for lunch.

Here's little Ginger smiling at her mommy.

Pass the T3s

2007-05-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well the past week has been a painful one. I had mouth surgery last friday and I'm still feeling the pain. I had 4 teeth pulled and my gums cut to help my eye teeth come through. Of course before my surgery started I fainted getting my IV. I awoke to doctors smacking my face. I totally forgot where I was and my body felt like a ton of bricks. My doctor told me at one point I stopped breathing!Scary!! When I faint for some reason I dream about swimming or being in the water (maybe its a comfort for me, who knows.. ) and this time was no different. So maybe this is why I stopped breathing because when you swim under water, you hold your breath. I don't know if I'm making any sense with what a saying. Anyways I'm so glad that it's over with and I hope I will never need to have another surgery ever again.
Yesterday I was feeling so much better until I went to my orthodontist apt. My doctor put these "buttons" on the tips of my eye teeth and then attached them to my braces. OUCH!!!! The hold drive home all I could think about is having some Tylenol and other heavy drugs to knock me out. An hour after my ortho apt. one of the buttons came off my tooth and I had to go back. Last night my face was so swollen and sore. I know this post is a whiny one but seriously it's all I can think about.

Yeah April's Almost Over!!

2007-04-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Julia had her ballet exam at the beginning of this month. (Easter Monday) She did really well and I'm so proud of her. I'm also so glad that she is back to one ballet class a week instead of 3!!
On April 17th the girls had their 1st dance competition of the year. (this was Kailey's 1st time competing) They did so good. Kailey wore her metals to school for most of the week. She was so proud of herself. The girls did a duo together called Hey Mickey.(looked sooo cute!) The girls put alot of work into their dances and I'm so glad that it's all over. If I would have know how much work would be involved in having a autistic child back in October, I probably wouldn't of put my girls in so many things this year. A lesson I've learned!
Shawn went out of town for 15 days and came home 1 hour before the girls competition. The following day we gave Thomas a much needed haircut. It's not the greatest cut but it will have to do. I think next time we will be giving him a buzz cut.
Dance Power competition this past weekend. The girls came in 1st in all their dances except Julia's solo. She came in second and was still very proud of herself. This picture above was taken with the girls jazz dance teacher Miss Danielle.

In between all of these dance exams and competition I was taking Thomas to Vancouver twice a week. This thursday Shawn and I go out to Vancouver for Tom's final diagnosis. I know I have a long road ahead of me. We already found out from the speech pathologist that Thomas has alot of catching up to do. He's at the level of a 6 to 9 month old with only his speech/comunication, everything else (motor skills etc...) he's at a normal level with the exception of a few sensory problems. If I work hard with him these next two years before he goes to school, I think he will be doing well.
I know I've been slacking in the blog department and with some of my chaos coming to an end, I will have more time to be on my computer.

Easter At Grandma Kings

2007-04-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

All the cousins got together to have an Easter egg hunt. This year both Hannah and Thomas were excited to go on their first egg hunt. By the end of the night Thomas had eaten most of his chocolate treats and then started to help himself to his cousin's Easter baskets. He's a picky eater but not when it comes to chocolate!

The last couple of weeks have been very intense and busy. Thomas has been to see 3 new doctors along with his eye and ear doctors. Shawn and I have a final diagnoses meeting on May3rd with all of his doctors. I will be so glad not to be driving out to Vancouver 2 times per week. Tom has been doing really well with the traveling and meeting of new people. He also is smiling more and making a little eye contact with people. Starting in September he will start his intense therapy (40+ hours per week) and hopefully he will start to come out of his shell and really blossom into the little person that he's suppose to be.
Right now it has been slow going with the sell of our home which is fine with Shawn and I. We are not ready to move until our home is built in Kelowna (which will not be until Aug) so there's no rush. I believe the foundation is getting poured next week which is exciting. When I get a free weekend I will be going out to Kelowna to see everything that has been going on with our property. On top of all of this the girls start dance competitions this Tuesday. I'll keep you posted on how they do.

Shut Up!!!

2007-04-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was scrapbooking and watching the Much Music count down. This new song comes on and I recognise the voice right away. It's Dave Faber. I new his band was at one point touring with Nickelback but now he's released his first single under a new band name. Glad to see he's doing well with what he loves. Anyways thought I would share that with those who know him. And his new song is really good!

Tupperware Party!

2007-04-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

I am having a Tupperware party next Thursday April 12th @ 7:00pm. I'm having it at my home and Lisa is the consultant that is doing the party with me. It will be lots of fun and there will be a few different treats we will be cookin' up. Also there are some things in the catalogue at 40% off retail price. Please leave a message if you are interested so that I know how many people are coming. Hope to see you there!!

White Rock Once Again

2007-03-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

Julia had another ballet practise in White Rock, so we decided to make a day of it. We had fish and chips for lunch at a table by the beach. I haven't done that since I was a kid and boy did it bring back memories. Then of course had to get ice cream cone. Can't go to the beach and not get ice cream! Thomas was not interested in sitting to have a meal. He walked for the entire 2 hours we were there. The only pictures I could get of him were pictures in action because he was so busy.
The girls love the beach, love water period. They kept asking to go swimming. I told them they were crazy.
While we were walking to the pier a train rolled on by which the kids loved. Thomas was in awe of this massive train. He has toy trains at home but has never seen a real train. He took every moment in, 100% focused on that train. He got a little winy after it passed us by too.
On our drive home it started to rain just a little bit. Shawn spotted this perfect rainbow in the sky. It was such a beautiful end to our day.

This Boy

2007-03-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

This boy is our child, he's our love,
he's our aspiration.
This boy is our pride, he's our dream,
he's our legacy.
No one, not anything will take him away from us!
I don't care what statistics say,
I will make sure my boy never drifts away.
Away into that place of darkness,
where you are all alone.
Every morning I call your name
and I know one day you will call mine.
I promise you my son that I will never give up on you!
You son, are our hope, you're our light,
and you're our joy.
You son, are our promise, you're our delight
and you are our everything.
My son it's time for you to come home to us.

Ten years ago 1 in 10,000 children were diagnosed with autism;
now today it is 1 in 150 children.
That means every 20 minutes another child in the world is diagnosed!
There is a 4:1 ratio in boys to girls having autism,
1 in 94 boys world wide are diagnosed with autism.
1 out of 6 children are diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem.
Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability today.

Nicci's Baby Guessing Poll

2007-03-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

Even though Nicci has a planned c-section date for May 29th, I figured I would still do a guessing poll. (She hasn't made it to her c-section due date with her other 2 children, so odds are she won't make this one either.)

Here's my guess:
Girl
May 21st
5lbs 10oz

Rosie's Baby Guessing Poll

2007-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I know that Rose is going to find out about the sex of her baby but I figure we can still have it as apart of the guess poll. Her expected due date is September 14th.

If you want to play then leave a comment that says:

-Sex of baby
-Date of birth
-Baby's weight

Here's my guess:
-Girl
-September 16th
-7lbs 6oz

Shawn's Home Sweet Home!

2007-03-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to have Shawn home this weekend. I got to sleep in a little bit (till 8am), had breakfast made and he even cleaned the dishes. What a good hubby! On Saturday we did a lot of running around, went shopping for clothes and groceries.We bought Thomas this really cute jean jacket.(I'll have to take a picture of him in it) Besides that not too much else exciting. On Sunday we had to take Julia to a ballet exam practice out in White Rock and decided we would also take the kids down to the beach. The kids all loved it. Thomas got to run around and the girls searched for sea shells and crabs under the rocks.Thomas preferred to be on the sidewalk so he could run as fast as he could. Every time we would walk by a bench, Thomas would sit down beside some stranger, smile at them and then take off running again. He loved the ocean breeze and was just taking it all in. It was so nice to see him happy. After Julia's practice, we were off the Mission to my mother-in-laws birthday dinner party. They moved about 6 months ago into a newer home that is right beside a park. All the little girl cousins went out playing at the park until it was dark. They made war with some of the neighbor boys that were also at the park. It was fun watching them until the girls started grabbing big sticks to hit the boys with. We had to call them in and stop their fun. When Kailey came in she told me that they weren't trying to hurt the boys, they (the girls) were just going to give them a little smack. Everybody gets such a kick out of her. She's too funny.

Oh Miss Jubee!

2007-03-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

As you can see from these pictures of Julia (aka Jubee), we have had an interesting day. Today Julia was running around in the back yard of a neighbor's house. She was chasing after her ball and smacked her face right into a freshly pruned tree branch. She is smiling in these pictures but at the time of her accident it was not a laughing matter. Her eye was oozing and bleeding and she got very faint. The other kids outside said she was running really fast. She just missed her eye ball and her cut did not need stitches. I hope she doesn't get a permanent scare. She already has enough battle wounds from falling off her bed as a toddler. I don't think a day goes by without major drama happening in my household. Thank you Lord Shawn is coming home tomorrow. He has been out of town for 2 weeks and I need a day of relaxation, preferably at a spa. Boy does that sound heavenly!

Fear of Sharks Anyone?

2007-03-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

OK since Leah brought up a fear of spiders, I decided to tell you about my all time fear. That would be sharks, particularly the Great White. I don't know why I have such a fear. Maybe it has to do with watching all those "Jaws" movies as a kid. One of my goals in life is to go in the water with a shark but be in one of those steal cages. I like to face my fears head on.I tell you what an experience that would be to see a shark face to face. Now first I guess I would have to learn how to scuba dive. I guess I'll just take one step at a time. Enjoy the video!!!

Shark Attack

2007-03-14T20:08:00.001-07:00

Quote of the Day

2007-03-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

I was sitting with Thomas today watching one of his favorite baby einstein DVDs "Baby Galileo." At the beginning of the movie a quote from Galileo's came up on the screen. Thomas starts speaking this quote at the same time as the narrator in the show, word for word! I know he has probably memorized it from watching the DVD so many times but I have NEVER heard him say so many words at one time and they were pretty clear.
This is the quote he said "All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered, the point is to discover them. Galileo Galilei." Of course I got so excited I went and got the video camera and started the DVD over. Of course then he wouldn't say it.
The thing that got me most (besides him speaking) is what he was actually saying. Before he spoke, I was sitting there thinking about how hard it must be to be lost in your own little world all the time. I wish sometimes I could see what he sees and fully understand his thought process. Then out of the blue he says such an encouraging quote. God was speaking right through him I'm sure.

First Day of Spring Break

2007-03-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today has been a good day. I was a little worried with all the kids home from school. (my 3 and two boys I babysit) Even though the weather isn't that great out, the kids have all been playing outside today. I got most of my house work done except folding the laundry and I had some alone time with Kailey today, which was nice. While all the kids were outside playing and Thomas down for a nap, Kailey and I made cookies. (6 dozen of them to be exact)
My parents mailed me a copy of our house plan last week and I just received them today. Now I have to start shopping for cabinets, tiles and that kind of thing. It's all starting to feel a little more real now. I'm excited to move but the packing and unpacking I'm not that into. I never knew how much junk we had, until we start sorting through everything. Mostly my kids are the pack rats. I got rid of a ton of toys, packed a couple boxes (of more toys) and their rooms are still full of toys. My kids have five sets of grandparents that spoil them.

I Love This Video!

2007-03-10T20:43:00.001-08:00

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got my bottom braces put on and man do they hurt. I got my top ones put on 7 months ago and they were a piece of cake. (besides getting food stuck in them; at least they didn't hurt.) To top it off I have a mild allergy cold that's just adding to the pressure in my head. No pain, no gain though. My teeth need a lot of work and I am glad that I'm finally getting them fixed. Around my 29th birthday my teeth will look good as new and I can't wait!
Next week is spring break for all the school kids. I hope the weather gets better. It would be nice to get out of the house and go to the park or something. Also next Friday Nicci is coming down with her hubby and the kids. Mark that day off on your calender, so we can have a get together. Maybe we could go for lunch or dinner or even take the kids out somewhere. Open invitation to all you ladies. I'll give more details when Nicci gets back to me on when she will be here and that kind of thing.

Dance, Dance, Dance!

2007-03-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Dance competitions are just around the corner (a month and 1 week away to be exact) and my girls are practicing really hard. The past 4 months Julia has been going through a lot regarding her brother Thomas. About 1 week after he was diagnosed with autism, Julia started feeling sick. Shawn and I took her to almost ever test you could think of (blood, ultrasound, urine etc... you get the point) and all her results came back fine. I had a feeling from the beginning that it had something to do with Thomas being "sick." I think that is how she sees her brother after the diagnosis. Almost 2 weeks ago I took Julia to see Thomas's pediatrician who diagnosed him with the autism. I was a little worried that I had 2 children with disorder problems and was starting to panic. We were at the doctors office for 1 1/2 hours and in the end he said that she is just dealing with all the stress and change of our family dynamic and as long as we acknowledge her pain but don't add to it, she will be fine.He also said that she was very smart and very mature for her age. (yes I already knew this. She acts like she is 11 or 12 years old and she's 7) She still comes up to me everyday and asked me if she looks OK , but she is not freaking out anymore.
Back to the dance stuff, yesterday Julia told me that she got her love back for dance and her and Kailey practiced their dance routines all yesterday. I'm so glad my little is getting better. News on the boy:- At the end of March we start going to Sunny Hill health centre to finish up on Thomas's diagnosis. He needs to see three more doctors and then we will start to get some funding for him. This whole process has went so fast and all the doctors have worked hard to help Thomas. My boy has so much favor and I thank God so much for that.

Bath Time

2007-03-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

This is Thomas's new thing he does in the bath everyday. It's funny because he won't drink water from a cup, but he will from the tap. Last week we gave Thomas a hair cut and boy was that a chore. I'm so against home hair cuts because growing up that's the only hair cut I got and my mother would butcher my hair. Anyways his hair looks OK but I do need to learn how to blend the sides in. Hopefully he will grow out of this fear of scissors and people touching his ears.
I've been pretty busy this past week. Shawn and I were trying to get everything lookin' good with our house and property. That snow did mess up a few of our plans. We have to still do 2 fence panels in the back of the house and put some fresh bark mulch in the gardens. Other than that this house is move in ready. The market is sure heating up and our neighbor just sold his house for a good price; so I'm sure we will get what we are asking for.

Here's Thomas

2007-02-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Made a few calls for dad, brought him the base board and trim and even helped shoot in a few nails. A boy in his glory!!!

Hard At Work

2007-02-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

The Before: (What a Mess!!!!!!) And The After: Much better, but it is time for a new bedroom suite!

This past week flashed before my eyes. Shawn took most of last week off of work. There was so many unfinished things that needed to be done around the house before we could let potential buyers look at it. We finally have our bedroom renovated after living in our home for 5 years. We put in a new window, painted the ceiling and walls, installed a new window ceil, baseboard and trim. That alone was a lot of work.

Julia's Art Work

2007-02-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

My daughter Julia started taking an art class in September of last year. Her class is for one hour, once a week and every week she brings home a new masterpiece that I can't believe she could make in 1 hour. (I know I'm bragging a little but I can't help myself.) She is the youngest in her class because her dance schedule only allows her to go in the 8 to 10 year old class and she is 7. Anyways here are her beautiful art pieces... This top picture was her 1st week of class picture back in September.
The second picture is a castle made with acrylic paint. This was her first time ever using acrylic paint. (Jan.'07)
This is my favorite picture to date. She did this just today and it's hard to she but she used some type of salt or sand mixed in with the water colors. This one I'm going to frame.
OK my bragging session is finished!

Our House is on the Market!

2007-02-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Shawn is off to an interview, in Kelowna at Alpine Aerotech. It would be so nice if he got an in town job to work at. The only thing is it has to be the right wage price (fingers crossed). I also sent 7 boxes (mostly seasonal kitchen items and kids toys) with him to take up to my parents lake house. The moving process is already in affect. Yesterday Jen and her father came over and we have officially put our house on the market. Everything feels like it is happening so fast.

Anyways back to today, Rosalia (Thomas's developmental specialist) came over to see him for the first time. At first he was a little uneasy about her. (Lately he has had so many people pick at and hurt him, he doesn't know who to trust.) The first toy she brought out was a big blue bouncy ball and Tom was her instant new best friend. Her job is to see where is is lacking in development and his only area of concern is his speech. So that was nice not to have any new surprises. She is working with his speech therapist, (who we see tomorrow) and we will all be working together to teach Thomas sign language. Rosalia thinks that will be the best route for Thomas. He catches on really quick to it. So besides the speech problem he is doing great. (I already knew that he was a smart cookie!) So that's my weekly update.

What's Goin' On in Shanyville

2007-02-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

The King house is as busy as usual and Thomas is doing really well since his surgery 1 week ago. His eyes are almost all healed up and today he goes for a hearing test. I'm sure everything will go well. I think that the tubes in the ears did the trick.
Anyways in other news, our plans for our new home were accepted and my father will be breaking ground either march 1st (if the weather gets better) or near the end of march. The sooner, the better.I've already registered the kids into their new schools and in May I can sign them up for a dance class each. Next year they are only taking piano lessons, ONE dance class and canskate one day per week. This year has been just too crazy with two girls dancing. I just can't keep up with everything. I babysit 5 other kids besides my own 3, the girls do 5 dance classes each, drama and piano and Thomas has a doctors apt. every week. Then cooking and cleaning on top of that. Moving will be good for me. I need to just chill and enjoy my life instead of making it a zoo.

My Tough Little Boy!

2007-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the big day Thomas had surgery on both of his eyes and both of his ears. He was a little nervous when we first got to the hospital and he hated his hospital gown. We went into a waiting area where Thomas could play with some toys and watch a movie but instead he tryed to escape from the hospital at least 5 or 6 times. So the nurses ended up sedating him and 20 minutes later he was in surgery. When I took him in the operating room he was so out of it and was singing happy birthday to me. He was such a brave little guy. Both surgeries were fast, in total maybe an hour long. When the nurses woke him up he was very cranky but he didn't get sick from the anesthetics. We got home from the hospital around 2pm and Tom was off to nap time. When he got up from his nap he acted like nothing had ever happened. He has been back to his old self and only now has to learn to use his glasses to see better.

Oh the Things That Come Out of Kailey's Mouth!

2007-02-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had sushi for dinner. I took the girls to go pick up the food. As we are sitting in the restaurant, directly in front of us was the man making our food. Kailey looks at me with a serious look and says "So mom are these people Chinese." My face turned about 10 shades of red and I told her "shhhhhhh, I'll talk to you later." She then gets louder and says it again. Well the cook just starts laughing out loud and then I start laughing. I end up telling her quickly "sushi is Japanese, so this man is probably Japanese." And that was the end of that. Kids always have perfect timing to embarrass their parents. (She keeps me humble on a daily basis.)

My Bucket of Tricks

2007-02-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

This post is for anyone who has a frustrated 1 or 2 year old. Everyday when I'm cleaning the house or just need a break from my boy, I bring out his special bucket of toys. This give him something to do while I'm getting things done. Every week or so I change up some of the toys so that there is always something new for him to play with.
This has helped alot with Thomas's behavior problems. I find that we don't have nearly as many melt downs.

2007-01-31T08:46:00.001-08:00

There is not much to blog about this week. Julia is performing in a play at her school today and it just so happens that my sister has finals this week in the mornings. So she is going to babysit Thomas this afternoon so I can go watch Julia. Then tonight I'm going for dinner at Elinis and off to a movie. I haven't had so much time to myself in a long time.
Shawn has been out of town for the last couple of weeks. He is coming home Friday because Thomas is having his eye and ear surgeries on Wednesday the 7th next week. I'm so glad that they are getting him in right away. They told me in the beginning it was going to be a month to 3 months wait and instead he only needed to wait 10 days. He is going to be a new boy and I can't wait!

Girls Night Out!!

2007-01-28T14:06:00.000-08:00

I was wondering if any of you blogging girls were interested in going out for dinner and a movie this coming up Wednesday.(Jan.31st)The movie I was thinking we could go and see is called "Catch and Release" with Jennifer Garner. It starts at 7:15pm at the mission theatre. For dinner, we could go to spurs or white spot or whatever just not BP. Give me suggestions and please comment so I know if your able to come. Lee if you are coming, could you call Ang because I know she only blogs about once per week.

Thomas Update

2007-01-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

I went to children's hospital on Monday and within being there for 10 minutes found out they could not do an ear test on Thomas because he had so much fluid in his ears. So when I get an eye surgery date, he will also be getting tubes in his ears. Then they will do the ear test. I drove a total of 5 hours for a 20-30 minute appointment. The good thing is I know how to get to children's hospital now. This was my first time there ever. The parking was ridiculous. You go in a payed parking area and there are zero parking spots, so I made my own parking spot. My grandma came with me to keep me company which was nice.

Yesterday Jen and I went out for dinner to white spot and then went to watch the movie "Dreamgirls." It was a really good musical type movie. Jennifer Hudson has such a power house voice. Why in the world did she not win American Idol? I don't even remember which season of American Idol she was on. Anyways it a good movie to see and very entertaining.

Tonight I'm going to a friends house for a candle party. I love candle parties but seriously I don't need anymore candles. I have a huge collection of party lite candles. It will be fun to get out of the house though. So that's all for now.

Heavy Eyes

2007-01-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

Today I went and got my hair cut and colored. It was nice to get out of the house and get pampered at the same time. While I was getting my hair done Thomas was suppose to be sleeping in bed for his afternoon nap. Today he didn't want to sleep at nap time but instead play with his toys. (He needs a toys room because having his toys in his room is too much of a temptation for him.) At dinner time this evening I was cleaning the table and noticed out of the corner of my eye Thomas's head bobbing up and down. He had fallen asleep! I had to take a picture of him (but they are a little blurry)What a funny little guy he is. I went and took him to bed, changed his diaper, put on his pj's and he didn't even flinch. He was out like a light and because it was 6:30pm, he was out for the night.

Lots Can Happen in Just One Week!

2007-01-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

OK, this past weekend Shawn and I went up to Kelowna for an Autism conference to learn more about the different sensory problem that Thomas has and how to help him. We learned a lot and are very thankful that Thomas is not as severe as some children are. We got to meet some people in Kelowna who have children with autism and it was nice to talk to someone who can understand what we are going through.We also learned that they have alot of programs in Kelowna for children with autism including playing ice hockey every Sunday morning at one of the local ice arenas. Shawn was sooooooo excited about that because since Thomas was born, he has been preparing Thomas to play ice hockey.
On Sunday, the day we were leaving Kelowna we had to go to my parents lawyer's office and sign some paperwork regarding the property that we will be buying. So as of Jan24th we will own property in Kelowna. Yeahhhh!

This past Tuesday I took Thomas to his eye Doctor in Surrey. Dr. Kennedy is booking him for surgery at children's hospital sometime in the next 4 weeks. (Shawn just went out of town for 3 weeks and I hope he will be back in time for Tom's surgery) I'm glad they are making him a priority to get his eye fixed. At the same time I barely get a moment to process what going on. He is also going to children's hospital this coming up Monday to get his hearing checked while being put to sleep. (They bounce sound waves off his ear drums and see how his brain reacts to it or something like that.) I think at home he can hear me pretty good most of the time. He's just got the male "selective hearing syndrome!" Seriously though he is constantly getting ear infections, so I think if they just drain the fluids in his ears he will hear just fine. He is such a happy little guy most of the time that I never know he even has an ear infection. We always are going to the doctors for different reasons usually regarding his eye problems and the doctor will just check his ears as a routine thing and every single time Thomas has an ear infection. In a months or so all his eye and ear problems will be behind us and he will be a new little boy. I can't wait!

Blood Diamond

2007-01-11T09:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Shawn and I went for dinner and a movie. We went and saw the movie "Blood Diamond." Man that movie was gut wrenching. When I first left the theatre I was very frustrated because it just seems that our world has turned into such a selfish place. There is no value of life and it just makes me mad. I don't know how else to explain it. Anyways I wrote a poem about the movie. So here it goes...

A Life Of Africa

Africa is everywhere,

it's apart of our lives.

We see it everyday

in many forms.

It steals, it kills,

it enslaves and

it takes from our senses.

It leaves us worthless

and without hope.

You feel guilty

for being so fortunate.

Why am I so Lucky?

Why has Africa by passed me?

This place is so complex

and I can't understand

it's purpose.

Why are you here Africa?

Why are your people

measured with meaningless things?

My whole being

just wants to scream!

Why!Why! Why!!!

So greedy,so self involved....

Oh Africa you have

shed light on evil.

You have awakened

many demons of this world.

You have freed and split open

your wounds for all to see.

And now... you must heal,

and you must learn to

love life once again.

To take a life,

No to save a life!

What is a life worth?

No More Training Wheels and 1st Visit by the Tooth Fairy

2007-01-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Kailey got a new bike for her birthday/Christmas present from her grandma and grandpa King. We took her out off and on for the day and she pretty much has the riding skills down pat. Yeahhh!!! My baby girl is growing up.

Here is Miss. Toothless and boy is she proud of her missing tooth. She was eating an apple yesterday and out came her tooth. On her 4th birthday she got this book about the tooth fairy and it came with a little purple pouch that you can put your teeth in. Well finally after 3 1/2 long years she got to use the pouch. With the pouch she also left a note for the tooth fairy saying, "Can I please keep my tooth!" love Julia.

My Boy Has Glasses

2007-01-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

Thomas got his first pair of glasses on December 23rd and he has done pretty good with them. He will only wear them for 5 minutes at a time but that is better than nothing. He goes on January 16th back to the opthmologist to see if he will also need surgery onto of wearing glasses. I'm pretty sure he still will need surgery but I could be wrong. Also today Thomas had his hearing checked and he didn't do so well. Behavior wise he was awesome but my boy can barely hear a darn thing. Any noise at a middle tone or lower he heard nothing and high pitch noises that were too load for my ears he was sometime responding and usually looking in the wrong direction. So with that being said he has to go to children's hospital for further testing because he will not let anyone look inside his ears. They will put his to sleep at children's and then they can see if he needs his ears drained of fluids or if he needs a hearing aid. I hope its just tubes.
For everything that has been going on with him, he sure is being good about it. He has been improving in his speech and he is has been more patient with us when we don't know what he wants. He even has picked up a few sign language words. I think when all is said and done he will be a new kid and he will be able to enjoy life.I'm so blessed to have him. He's my little sunshine!

My Son Looks Like Quasimodo!

2006-12-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday we put Thomas to bed at night as usual but instead of sleeping he decided to play around in bed. Anyways Shawn and I were watching t.v. and all of the sudden there was a loud crash, then there was silence but only for a moment. Then we heard screaming and both ran in his room to see what happened. All I could see was this huge bump on his face. The bump on his face was twice as big as in the pictures and I thought for sure he had broke his nose. We rushed him to the hospital and the whole ride there he kept grabbing the "lump" and moving it around. It was making me sick. Anyways thankfully he did not break his nose but that still did not change the fact that he now looks a little alien like or even a distant cousin to the hunchback Quasimodo without the hunch.Today is the first day that he started looking like himself.

Christmas Production

2006-12-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday was the girls dance/drama Christmas production at the Abbey Art Centre. They had two shows to preform at, one in the early afternoon and one in the evening. Julia came down with the flu Friday afternoon and was still not feeling the greatest when we arrive at the first show. She ended up still performing all her dances and skits. I was very proud of her! During the first show I was soooo busy changing kids from one costume to the other that I didn't get a chance to take very many pictures. (Both my girls had ballet, drama, hip hop, tap, jazz and lyrical dances in the first show.) It was all such a blur. I ended up buying a DVD of the show just so I can see how my girls did and also for a keepsake. Julia also was apart of an acro dance number that made front page in our local news paper. I guess that is enough bragging for one day about my girls! Anyways here are a couple pictures I took just before the show started. Kailey is wearing her ballet costume and Julia and her friend Tiarra are wearing their acro costumes.

Busy Busy Busy!

2006-12-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

Shawn is finally coming home today. He's been out of town for 3 weeks and life has been so busy without him. The girls have had a million rehearsals and practices for their dance production this Sunday at the Abby Art Center. They are both doing really well in dance this year. I'll post some pictures of them in their cute little outfits on Sunday. Also my dad and mom are coming for the first time to watch their production. The girls are so excited.
In other news Thomas has been doing really well. He's talking a little better and is using pictures to communicate which has helped alot. The only thing that drives me a little crazy is the constant playing of classical music in my house. I'm talking all day. The minute he gets up in the morning if I don't turn on his music then he will turn on the piano or put a baby einstein movie on. I think for Christmas we will get him a mp3 player so he can listen to the music and I don't need to worry about going crazy.

My Creepy Neighbor

2006-12-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

Today my next door neighbor calls me and tells me that my cats have scratched his truck. I told him that since the snow fall my cats have been in doors except to go the bathroom. He then asks me what I'm going to do about the scratches. There were alot of things I wanted to say but I didn't. I just said nothing and then was about to hang up, until he said in quite an evil tone "You know I have rat poisoning on my property." Okay now I'm upset, hes blaming me for something that my cats didn't do (there are tons of cats, raccoon etc.. he can't prove it was my animals!) and now he's threatened to poison my cats! He is one sick man!!!! Believe it or not this is not the first time he has threatened to kill my cats with rat poisoning. Just this summer he blamed me for his rat infestation problem at his home because I leave cat food outside on my deck for my cats to eat. This is the funny part - the creep has 2 dogs that are penned up 24/7 outside and they eat their food outside also. He also never cleans up this dogs feces so I think that's probably why he had a rat problem. I have never seen a rat on my property in the 5 years I lived here!(only dead moles, mice and birds)
Here is a list of all the sick and twisted things my next door neighbor has done:-
1. When Shawn is working, he will come to our sliding back door for no apparent reason. Just to snoop on me and he always does it when it is dark out!
2. Has peaked in on my brother having a shower by coming up onto my deck. (My brother made eye contact with him and he still tried to peak into the window. )
3. Long story short, I was 6 months pregnant and he tried to make me shovel 3 truck loads of clay/dirt off of his property. Shawn and I were making a garden and he told me he had some TOP soil that we could have. It wasn't top soil, it was CLAY so I didn't want it but he still wanted me to get rid of it.
4. Mr. Creepy stepped on a nail in our yard and threatened to sue us. We were out for lunch and he came on to our property to snoop at our new deck and that's when he stepped on the nail. It was his own fault!!!
There have been countless other things that this man has done, majority of them are peeping tom acts. Anyways I needed to vent my frustration about this man and now I feel a little better. I can't wait till we move and hopefully we will have nice normal neighbors.

A Winter Wonderland

2006-11-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the Christmas pictures of Thomas. I was at the Sears portrait studio for 2 hours to get pictures of Thomas. It was a memory that was well worth it!

The girls are loving the snowy days and here are a couple of pictures of them on our first day of snow fall. Julia also made a snowman and insisted that I take a picture of it.

Christmas Pictures

2006-11-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the Christmas pictures I got done of the girls. Thomas's are going to be ready for pick-up on Monday. It took 3 times before Thomas would take a picture.

It's Official

2006-11-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went up to Kelowna and looked at a lot. It was the one for us, so we gave my parents the go ahead to start the permits and the process of building a home. We are really excited and a little nervous. This is a big move and I'm pretty sure it's a good move. There is a school out in Kelowna called Okanagan Montessori which specifically teach children with autism like Thomas.They start school from 3 years of age up to grade 7. Also our home will be 2 doors down from a park, walking distance from Shannon Lake and a beautiful golf course called "Shannon Lake " golf course. What's not to like, everything starts with my name! (except our street name will be Shelby drive) Anyways that is the exciting news in the King house.
As for the update on Thomas everything is going as good as it can be. I've booked most of his specialist apt. The process of getting proper help for him is a long one but I tell you I push until I get what I want. A family support worker contacted me yesterday and told me that Thomas is getting looked after a lot sooner than some children. I think the only reason for that, is I call the doctors and support workers and the specialists daily to push everything along. God has gave me a strong and feisty spirit for a reason. And I know part of that reason is to fight for my son rights for proper help.
That's all that's been going on in the past week and the next couple of weeks will be busy ones. The girls have their dance production coming up.(Lots of rehearsals etc...) They are so excited and they practice their dances almost everyday.

Good Days and Bad Days

2006-11-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

I think Shawn and I have pretty much came to terms about everything regarding Thomas and things are looking up. The process of getting the help needed for him takes a long time and so I have started doing stuff on my own. Flash cards have been working really well with him so far. I have taken pictures around the house of all his the familiar items he needs to learn and today I'm going to go get some business type card, so when we go out I don't need to explain my son behavior to everyone. Instead I'll hand them a card and that should probably shut them up. Autism has really opened up my eyes to a lot of things. I have been doing alot of research and I can't believe the statistics on this disorder. 1 in every 69 boys is diagnosed with autism in North America! Every 20 minutes another child in the world is diagnosed with autism! These stats are just mind boggling.
Anyways in other news Shawn, myself and the kids are going up to Kelowna this weekend to look at a piece of property. I'm so excited and so is Shawn. Hopefully this lot is the one for us. It's fully fenced, two doors down from the park, 5 minutes from the floating bridge, 5 minute from westbank's shopping center, and all the schools are walking distances away. (It sounds perfect for what we're looking for) One more thing, there is a willow tree in the back yard beside a creek. I love willow trees, especially in the summer because I like to be in the shade most of the time. (I do love the sunny hot days though, just in doses.) This will be one of the only times in the next few years to move, so if the property is for us, then we're moving.
One last thing, thank-you to everyone who has prayed for my family and may God bless you all!!!

My Beautiful Boy

2006-11-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

I haven't blog lately because I our family has been going through a lot of issues we have had to deal with. My son has been diagnosed with Autism which has been extremely hard to deal with. (It is so hard to even type this on my computer but it helps make it more real.) We found out the day before Halloween. The doctors think he is only mildly autistic and will be able to live a pretty normal life. (Lets pray they are right) My poor little guy has to see quite a few doctors (at least 8) and it's going to be a hard and long road to walk but I know God will be walking right along with me. If you are reading this, please take a moment and pray for Thomas.

The one good thing is we got a diagnosis early enough that he can get a lot of help before he starts school.

ATVing over the weekend

2006-10-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a very relaxing one. We went to Ella's 2nd b-day and then went for dinner to my in-laws house. They just bought a new house in mission and Thomas had to check out every room, cupboard etc... He such a busy boy. We just recently found out through our doctor that Thomas has hearing and eye sight problems. He is going to the specialist on Monday. He might need either surgery or glasses for his left eye and possible tubes put in his ears. We were wondering why his speech has went down hill since the beginning of summer and he was starting to do his own type of sign language because he can't hear us properly.(poor little guy)
Anyways on a much lighter note, Julia finally got to take her motorbike out to Kevin and Karin-Ann's farm on Sunday and she road her bike for just over 3 hours. She loves it. Shawn and Kev shared one of the ATVs and took all the other kids for rides.Karin-Ann and shared the other ATV. I had a blast! They have 40 acres of land so there was lots to do. They just recently sold their home and now are fixing up the farm house. That's all for now.

5 Weird Shannon Facts

2006-10-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here we go...

1.) I clean my kitchen appliances with q-tips and tooth picks

2.) I can't eat onion ring without lots of salt and vinegar

3.) All of the DVDs, CDs and videos in my house are in alphabetical order.

4.) I can't sleep at night with both of my feet under the blankets. Always one foot out.

5.) Once I fall asleep at night I wake up in the morning in the same position. (I don't toss and turn, only when I have a really bad cold)

Those are the best weird facts I could think of.

Flu Bug Hit Our Home!!! (Yuk)

2006-10-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well I was trying to get back to the blogging routine and then the flu hit my home. It started with Thomas and eneded with me. I think next year I will be going to the doctors to get a flu shot because this is the 3 year our family has been sick with a flu. Enough is enough! Julia was lucky, she was the only one who bypast it. (She starved herself for 2 days though because she was so scared of getting sick.)
Besides the flu not to much is new.

My Poor Baby Girl!

2006-10-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Kailey's birthday on Saturday Sept 23rd at Adventure Zone. Not even 5 minutes into her birthday and she fell off the zip cord ride and broke her elbow. Not the wrist or the upper arm, but the ELBOW! Ouch!!! She hardly cried and wanted to continue with her party. At first we didn't realize she broke it because she could move her wrist and fingers, so we bandaged it up and she sat most of the time and watched her friends play. When it was time to have cake and present, I decided to take off the tenser bandage and look at her arm. All I can say is OMG I think it is broken. She had a lump by the elbow and I told Shawn it is time to go. I don't think she will ever forget her 5th birthday. Smiling putting ice on her wound

One tough little girl!

Thomas's 2nd Birthday

2006-09-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Thomas's Birthday on Sunday September 10th. He turned 2 years old and I can't believe how fast the time goes.

Thomas loved his birthday cake and all of his balloons. He wouldn't eat his own piece of cake, instead he wanted to go around to all his family members and take a bite of thier cake.

Can't Comment on the Blog Beta Accounts?!!!

2006-09-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today I have tryed about 10 times to leave comments on Tweety bird and Lee's blog sites and my comments are being denied. I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Also I can't comment on D. (with the twinkling stars) blog site because my computer will freeze up on her site. My computer is brand new so I can't see that being the problem. If anyone could help me that would be a major stress relief.

Schools In!!!

2006-09-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

Thank-you Lord I'm back on a schedule! I love the summer time but I need a routine and so do my kids. Shawn has been away pretty much the entire summer except for his 2 weeks holiday. The kids are back in school and I can finally have a break in the middle of my day. Kailey started kindergarten and she loves it so far. She hasn't had a full day yet. We'll see how that goes (next Wednesday is her first full day). Julia is in a grade 2/3 split which is perfect for her. She loves being with the older kids.
Thomas is having his 2nd birthday this Sunday. We are having a baby Einstein theme. He is addicted to Einstein and I'm not kidding. If he's not watching one of his 20 DVD's, he looking through his books or playing with his Einstein toys.
On the 23rd of this month is Kailey's birthday party and we are having it at adventure zone. It's not the cleanest place but the kids have a lot of fun their. She will be turning 5 yrs old. Hopefully Shawn will get home on the 22nd so he will make it to her birthday.
The girls have started back in dance and piano again this year and they are loving it. They have really nice teachers which I'm glad about.The girls are taking a few classes together such as tap,jazz, lyrical and hiphop.

This Summer is going by way too fast

2006-08-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Lots has been going on. We finished the bathroom downstairs which was a big job. We did tile on the floor and around and above our shower. (I will blog some pictures of it at a later date.) Basically the basement is finished except for some baseboard and Julia's door trim. Renos are very time consuming.
Also this weekend a water line in our cud-a-sac burst and part of the road sank in. At the same time we discovered a water leak in our front hose pipe. It didn't wreck anything in the house but it made a mess of my garden. This all happened on my birthday too. At least Shawn and I celebrated my birthday earlier in the week. We went for dinner and a movie. He also took me shopping.(I got some shoes, jeans and a jacket.)

More Camping Photos

2006-08-09T08:34:00.000-07:00

Here is the 6 man bike that we went on. Julia hurt herself really bad. It's been one week since we went on that bike and she still has a huge bruise.
The guys and the older kids playing mini golf. Julia being such a competitive kid would not play on the same hole as everyone else because she didn't want anyone to beat her. We have only taken her mini golfing maybe 5 times in her life and she can't play that well. I tried to help her a little bit but helping Julia is like pulling teeth.My poor boy had to be leashed up at our camp site on day three because he kept running away to other peoples campsites. We had a close call with a guys truck, so I said that was it. He was upset for a couple of hours and then he found a sand pit at the back of our campsite. He was good to go once there was dirt and sand involved.

Camping Time

2006-08-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Our whole family went camping at Shuswap lake from July 31 to August 4th. The kids had a blast. Every night all my children needed a shower before bed. Kailey and Thomas were sometimes unrecognizable.All my kids love getting dirty only when camping not at home.
There was a big gated play area for the kids to play at in the day. They would go there right after breakfast and stay there until lunch time. In the after noon we would go do some kind of family adventure. We went to the beach only one day on our camping trip. There was really bad cedar itch (duck mite) in the water and it really grossed me out. Plus it is very itchy and I didn't want to chance Julia or Thomas getting it. They are our drama children when it comes to being sick. Kailey could care less. Anyways here are some pics.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Julia on our trip, so I had to post it.

Dad's 50th

2006-08-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

We left for our holidays on July 29th up to Kelowna just for a couple of days before our camping trip. My mom had a Hawaiian Luau for my dad's 50th birthday party. Jeff Jaggard taught us how to do some hawaiian dancing which was a lot of fun and I'm sure we looked ridiculous. We also drank alot of pina coladas (yummmm!) Kailey couldn't stay awake past 7pm and was fast asleep on her uncle Stephen's bed.
Aloha!!

Jubee on her Dirt Bike

2006-07-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

Julia's 7th Birthday Party

2006-07-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun day for our baby girl. I can't believe she will be 7 in a couple of weeks. We celebrated her birthday on friday with 15 of her girlfriend from school and dance classes. They all loved the spa theme. (Who doesn't like getting pampered.) They all got a manicure and pedicure and also made a few crafts. After that they went on this water slide thing we bought the kids. They all had a blast and had a chance to cool down. It was 39 degrees out where we lived and you could feel it even in the shade. All the birthday activities were done in the shade outside except for the slide. After the slide it was cake and presents. Julia got a lot of cute gifts. Her favorites where from dad and mom though. We bought her a pair of heeleys and a dirt bike. She has rode it a few times and loves it. We got it in pink too with a matching helmet.(Pink being Julia's favorite color.)Here are some picture of the party. Enjoy!!!

News of the Week

2006-07-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

This week the girls had day camp from 10-12pm Monday to Friday which they totally loved. It was right across the street at Julia's elementary school. (and it was FREE!) They learned a couple of dances, made a few crafts and did a lot of running around. Shawn has been out of town since July 4th, so the day camp has helped break up my days and let me get some shopping done.
On Wednesday I had the day off from babysitting so I took the girls into Langley to get some school clothes. We went to Laneza girl and the girls went to work. They know there own sizes and they have their own taste, so I just sit back and let them shop. They picked out some really cute stuff. Julia bought a couple of camouflage outfits, a hoody, faded jeans and a couple of t-shirts. Kailey was a little different. She some rocker t-shirts,faded jeans, a couple of skirts and of course a hat. (She is the hat queen.) The ladies that worked there got a kick out of my girls, they couldn't believe they already new how to shop, try on their clothes by themselves and everything else. (One day they will have to learn how to pay for their clothes by themselves) We bought some Kernels caramel popcorn for Thomas at the mall and he was content just sitting in his stroller. With the rainy weather it was a perfect day to go shopping.
Also while we were at the mall I managed to buy a birthday gift for Julia. My sister was with me, so she ate lunch with the kids while I went and bought Julia a pair of Heeleys. She has been asking for these shoes for almost a year and so now she will finally get a pair.
We are having her birthday party on July 21st at home and she has 17 little girlfriends coming. (Some are from school, dance and a couple have been her friends since they were little babies) Her birthday theme is "A Day at the Spa." The girls will be making two crafts. (One is a bath bomb and the other is bath salts) They will get to pick their own fragrance and color for their crafts. Also I will have a pedicure and a manicure station were the girls get their nails done and then get to keep their nail polish as part of their goodie bag. After dinner, cake and presents , they will all enjoy a swim in the pool. It will be a lot of fun and Julia is counting down the days.
Yesterday me and the kids went and rented some movies. Julia wanted Leroy and stitch and Kailey wanted to get a different movie (as always). She points to the movie she wants and says "Mom I love this movie, Chicken Niggle" and I started laughing (as did a lot of other people in the store) and then she tries to correct herself by saying " I mean Chicken Nipple." She is such a funny kid.

Hippopotamus?

2006-07-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Just a few funny things my two young children have said today-

I was asking Kailey if she wanted to be in drama class again in September and she said "I don't think so mom, I think I would like to take Hippopotamus instead." At first I couldn't figure out what she was talking about so I looked on the dance/drama schedule and seen Hip Hop class.

Lately Thomas has been handing me his diaper and telling me " poo poo mom", and then in a quiet voice he whispers "stinty" (he is just too cute and goofy) so I figured I would introduce him to the toilet. There is no way I'm teaching him to stand peeing so I sat him down on a potty seat (that sits on the toilet). I told him to go pee and he just had this blank look on his face. I figured he wasn't understanding me and then all the sudden he looks down at himself and starts yelling "Go!, Go!, Go PEEEEE!" I started laughing so hard but Thomas was all business. He sat there for about 10 minutes and then we gave up. I got his bath started and put him in. Then he started grabbing himself and stood up and of course he is now peeing in his bath. Maybe next time when I put him on the potty I will dip his feet in some warm water.

Peytan's Baby Shower

2006-07-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm inviting any of you blogger girls and your families to Peytan's (Karen new baby girl) baby shower on Sunday July 9th. I'm having it at my home from 1-4pm. It was suppose to be a surprise shower but my mother-in-law spoiled it. That's why I'm bogging this invite on such a late notice. Please let me know if you can come, so I know how many people to expect.

Canada Day Weekend

2006-07-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

Since Thursday (the last day of school) things have slowed down quite a bit. The kids are sleeping in (till 8:30am) which has been really nice and the weather has been beautiful. On Canada day we didn't do too much. The girls went with the neighbours to the Canada day parade and Shawn and I (with Thomas) went to Home Depot for our last big order for our home. We ordered the baseboard, trim, doors and a cedar fence for our pool. Last week our carpet was installed, our new kitchen table with chairs came and Thomas's bedroom set. Our little boy is now in a "Big Boy Bed." (I love the way Thomas says it best, "Big Booooooooy") Every night I've been peeking in his room to see if he is actually sleeping in his bed and not on the floor. So far so good, he is loving it. Thomas has been sleeping in and still taking a 2 1/2 to 3 hour afternoon nap in the day.
On Sunday we went to Maple Bay at Cultas Lake for our church service. We ended up missing almost the entire service but we stayed and had a pic-nic and went swimming. The kids loved it and it was nice hanging out with Sarah and her family. (We didn't see the McCue's there though). On our way home from Cultas, we took the kids to Dairy Queen but we ended up just doing the drive thru thing because all the kids were asleep.

Lets Dance!

2006-06-27T23:57:00.000-07:00

The girls have had two busy days of dancing at the Abby Art Centre with their dance school "Creative Edge." They had alot of fun performing, especially the second night because they were in alot of different skits and dances. Kailey played a mouse for ballet, a keebler elf for her drama skit and for preschool they did a dance to the song "Honky tonk cowboys."(priceless)
Julia was a star for ballet (their dance was the cinderella story), dopey and a pink heart for her drama skits, danced to the song Tutti Frutti for tap, Copa cobana for jazz and Gratitude for lryical.

This was my favorite outfit of the evening, her Tutti Frutti outfit. This is Julia's tap, jazz and lryical dance teacher Ms. Maureen. She is such an awesome dance teacher and the kids love her to pieces. The production was a lot of fun and I love helping out behind the scences getting the girls on stage. All in all though, I am glad that dance is finished for the summer. Enjoy the pictures!!

Here are some pictures of Joshua

2006-06-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kailey loves her new baby cousin!

Here are some pictures of the little guy. It was hard to get him to open his eyes. He just wants to sleep.(I don't blame him; it's alot of work being a baby)

Baby Joshua is Here!!!

2006-06-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

Today at 5:19pm Karin-Ann gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Little Joshua was 7lbs 9oz and almost 21 inches long. He is such a cute little guy. Tomorrow I will blogs some pictures of him. My battery on my camera died when I was at the hospital today, so I have no pictures yet.

Wednesday:- Kailey's Preschool Graduation

2006-06-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

This was Kailey's second and last year of preschool. In September she will be going to Kindergarten and she can't wait. The preschool did the whole cap and certificate with grad music ceremony. It was very cute and the kids sang a song for all the parents called "It's a Small World."
Here's a picture of Kailey with her 2 preschool teachers, Miss. Kelly and Mrs. Heather.

Here are some pictures of Kailey with some of her friends.

Tuesday:- A Day at the Zoo With Jubee

2006-06-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

I had to show some more pictures of the zoo animals. My favorite is the one of the hawk name "Quiver." Julia got to hold and get a picture with this beautiful bird of prey. Here are a couple of pictures of Julia and her friend Sydney. These girls are so cute together and were the highlight of my day. If they weren't singing songs (making them up as they go along), they were doing dance moves or just acting like crazy little girls. They both just feed off of one another and got the giggles some many time, that I was getting tired of taking them to the bathroom. They both are total hams in front of the camera too. Over all it was a fun day to spend just with Julia and her school class and the weather was perfect (cloudy with the sun peaking out once in a while.)

What Have I Been Doing This Week... Ohhhh Let Me Tell You!

2006-06-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day we went to church in the morning to The Bridge, which we are just loving this church. The girls love Sunday school and don't want to leave. (which is such a change from our old church) Anyways after church we went to Taco Del Mar in Mission for lunch. There's not a big eating area but I love mexican food and thats all that counts. After lunch we went to the in-laws house for a bbq and had a good time with the family.

On Monday evening Karen and I went to visit Peytan at the Langley hospital. I got to hold her for the first time and she is such a tiny little bean and as cute as a button. Everytime I spoke to her she smiled the "Lilo" smile (to understand the lilo smile watch the movie "Lilo and Stitch") I know she was most likely smiling because of gas but I could get her to smile almost everytime I spoke to her. I can't wait till Karen can bring her home. Here are some pictures of peytan wearing clothes for the first time.

Trip to the Vancouver Zoo

2006-06-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kailey was very excited to go to the zoo with her preschool class. The weather was not that nice when we first got there but after about an hour, it got much better. (No sun though) Right now there are lots of new baby animals, which all the girls go crazy over. I would have to say that the train ride was their favorite thing to do at the zoo. Even Thomas sat through the 10 minute train ride.

Peytan Carol Fedrau

2006-06-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of little Peytan. She is doing well. The only concern is she is not sucking, so Karen can't feed her quite yet. She is really sleepy (which is expected) and she was actually just over 6 weeks early. Karen is doing well and is very thankful she did not have to have a c-section with this baby, as she did with Tiarra. Karen will be released tomorrow evening from the hospital and Peytan will be at the hospital for a couple more weeks or until she starts eating on her own.

It's a Girl!!

2006-06-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Fred and Karen had a baby girl last night just before 11pm. She is 5lbs 12 oz and is doing well. I'm going to the hospital now to visit and I will post some pictures.

A Baby is on the Way!

2006-06-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

My friends Karen and Fred just gave me a call to tell me that Karen's water has just broke. She is only 34 1/2 weeks along. Keep Karen, the new baby and her family in your prayers. (We need to pray that baby will be healthy!) I will keep you all updated on how everyone is doing in the morning.

Award Night

2006-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Julia performed at the piano recital too and she also had an award show. The award show presented all the children with trophies who had been in competitions this year and had won high score in their age group. Julia won a trophy, along with the rest of her jazz group for their dance Copa Cobana. This year they were undefeated in their age group in all competitions. Great job Julia, we are also so proud of you too.

Piano Recital

2006-06-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

This was Kailey's first year of piano and on Sunday they had a music recital for all of the kids. Kailey did so well! I thought she would be a little nervous because she is very shy, but she wasn't. Kailey was the youngest student their to perform and Shawn and I were so proud of her.

Party Time!

2006-06-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

This was one of our many youth get togethers. I think we were at the Bilinski's house. Sean and Ryan were our entertainment of the evening. Enjoy the pictures.

2006-06-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Shawn and Shanee when we went boating down the fraser river to Harrison Hot Springs. (summer of 98)

Grade 12 PE Class

2006-06-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

Boy do we look hot in this photo! I love the school colors.

Some "Old School" Pictures

2006-06-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are renovating our downstairs and I came across some pictures. So I felt like blogging them. This first picture is of me, Rosie and Nicci in English 11 class. (Mr. Rauser's class)

2006-06-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well that last couple of weeks have just flew by. This weekend we went over to my mom's house to celebrate my sister Sheralie's birthday. (Happy 15th) On Saturday it was off to the mission pool for Hayley's 5th birthday. The new pool in mission is really nice. The kids favorite thing was the whirlpool and of course the waterslide. In the evening we put together our laundry room. (Installed cabinets, sink and hooked up washer and dryer) Mostly I just supervised while Shawn did all the work. On Sunday it was picture day, all day for the girls. Julia and Kailey's dance studio has a professional photographer come in and take pictures of all the dance and drama classes. I'll post the pictures when I get them. It was such a long day because the picture times for my girls started at 10 in the morning till 3:30pm. In the end it was well worth it.

This week will be a busy one for me. Shawn just got promoted to a manager postition at Megellan (at the abbotsford airport) and they are sending him on a business trip to Toronto June 6th. So I will be without my husband for 9 or 10 days. Meanwhile at home Julia has 2 field trips with her school that I'm helping out with. The first one is on thursday and we are going to the MRC pool in Abbotsford and the second field trip in to the Vancouver zoo. Also this weekend coming up is the girls piano recital and Julias award ceremony for her jazz class. She is very excited about that. Her jazz class was undefeated in all of their dance competitions.

Also in the next week their should be a new baby arriving. Karin-Ann is due any day and I hope the baby comes a little early for her. The last couple weeks of pregnancy are the hard ones and I can tell when I see her, she wants this baby out. I will blog pictures of the new baby as soon as it arrives.

Lryical Dance (Graditude)

2006-06-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite dances that Julia performs. The song is called Graditude. It's a total tear jerking song. I'm so proud of my little girl and I can't help but show her off.

Copa Cobana

2006-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here is Julia (in the orange outfit) performing at the sun peaks dance competition. She danced to the song Copa Cobana. I finally recieved these pictures from the photographer and now wanted to show all of you.

Stephen Banquet Dinner

2006-05-31T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures of Stephen's graduation weekend. On Monday, they had a banquet for the grads and their families. Shawn ended up going home on Sunday and I flew home tueday morning so I could go to the banquet. It was a wonderful evening and the food was very good.

Stephen's Graduation

2006-05-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

On friday Stephen got his high school diploma. I can't believe it has been 9 years since I graduated. I had the chance to talk to one of my teachers from high school. Rick Rauser was my english teacher in grade 11 and for the last 2 years has been Stephen's bible teacher. He hasn't change since the last time I had seen him, except for the lack of hair. Anyways the graduation ceremony went smoothly and was only a couple of hours long. Stephen's gratuating class was just under 70 student and combined they recieved over $50,000.00 in bursaies and grants. (Smart bunch of kids) Here are some of my pictures from the night.

The Jaggard Family

2006-05-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know Jeff and Angie Jaggard, here are some pictures of their 3 beautiful children. Haley is there oldest, then Christian and last but not least, baby Amanda. We had a visit with the Jaggards on Sunday when we were in Kelowna.

Stephen's Graduation

2006-05-25T08:49:00.000-07:00

My little brother is not so little anymore. This weekend Shawn and I (without the kids) are going up to Kelowna to watch my brother Stephen graduate from high school. Shawn and I haven't got a weekend together since Julia was a baby. The kids are all going to stay with some one different because it would be alot to ask one person to take care of 3 kids for a weekend. (So Julia and Ginger are going to my mom Bonnie's house, Kailey is going to Karin-Ann's and Thomas is going to Grandma Kings house.)
Shawn's Birthday is also this weekend. He turns 31 on May28th. Shawn has his birthday on the same day as 2 of his sister-in-laws. (My brother Greg's wife Chrystal and Shawn's oldest brother's wife Kerri) Happy Birthday to the both of you!!!
It feels like for the last two months, there is always something happening on the weekend. One more month and then it's holiday time. Kids have no school, no dance, no piano and no other kids to babysit. It will be nice to sleep in for a change and yes all my children love to sleep, even Ginger. (As long as we have blankets on Thomas window he sleeps in)

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma in Kelowna

2006-05-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

Kelowna's weather wasn't much better than Abbotsford over the long weekend. The kids still had alot of fun. We went to the beach on Sunday for a couple of hours and thomas loved the water and the playground. Julia went on this rope swing over and over again until we left. She was so scared to try it and then she finally went on it.(and then we couldn't get her off it) Kailey always does her on thing and is always in her own little world. She kept very busy making sand castles. It was way too cold to go swimming. There is always next time.

Going Away For the Weekend

2006-05-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

Me and the family are going up to Kelowna for the weekend. It was a last minute thing. My mom called us up and told us to come down with the kids and we couldn't pass up the offer. The kids love the water and boating. My dad just bought a sea doo too, so Shawn wants to try it out. You know how guys are. Anyways I hope you all have a great long weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather.

A Day in the Sun

2006-05-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

2006-05-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

It's been such a beautiful day today. The kids played outside in the sprinkler and had a little pic-nic. Thomas loves the water and he loves getting me all wet.

Out for Rose's Birthday

2006-05-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening some of us blogger girls went out to Earls to celebrate Roses birthday. Here is the only picture I have of the evening. I think Ang's pictures are better and I'm sure she will post them soon. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and hope to get together again soon.

2006-05-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here's what has been going on in the King house this week. Monday was super stressful. I get a call from Shawn's work (at the Abbotsford Airport) at 2:30 pm and they tell me that I have to go pick up Shawn at the Vancouver Airport, South Terminal. Hello that's right in the middle of rush hour! So I sent Julia to her tap and piano lessons and asked Karen to pick her up.Then packed up Thomas , Kailey and Ginger into the van to go to the airport. The number 10 had a power failure so there was 4 way stops everywhere which made the trip longer. We ended up getting home just before 7:00pm. It was a long, exausting day but it was well worth it because my husband was now home.
On Wednesday I registered the girls for their dance classes for next year and they are pretty excited. They both are going to try out Hip Hop (Kailey calls it Hippidy Hoppidy) and some of the same things as this year. The girls are also going to do a duo together which will be cute. They love dancing together.

This weekend it is time to start looking for a bedroom set for Thomas. He needs to get out of the crib because he is much too big for it. Plus I'm trying to get rid of the baby stuff because I'm getting the baby itch again. I think I feel this way because so many people I know are pregnant right now and I love the new born stage. I will just have to get over it becauseShawn has already done the deed so we can't have anymore children. Well I'm looking forward to seeing some of you gals on Saturday for Rosies Birthday.

King Family at a Dull Roar This Week

2006-05-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

Not alot is going on in the King house this week besides the usual. I had a little problem with the down stairs but everything is all worked out now. We had change the hardwood to lino and carpet (which I didn't really want, but it will look really nice) I will show pictures when it's all done. Besides that I have had to learn how to use a weed eater and a lawn mower since Shawn has been gone and I think I did a pretty good job. I usually get Shawn to do outside cleaning and I do inside cleaning but now I have to do both. I tell you its hats off to single parents because I don't know how they do it. When Shawn's gone I get a babysitter at least 3 times a week so I can go work out or go out for dinner. Next week I booked a full body message for 1 hour. I'm so tired and I need to relax.
This Saturday it is my nephew Caleb's 1st birthday (my brother Greg's son) and also on Saturday Julia has another dance competition in New Westminster. I'm glad this is the last one because I'm getting tired of going to a competition every second weekend.
Here are some pictures of my kids at my cousins son's bithday and also a picture of my brother with his son Caleb.

2006-04-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Last week was a pretty busy one. Shawn went out of town again, Thomas got the flu, got a new puppy, Nicci came down for a visit from Kamloops and Julia had another dance competition. I did get to relax a little bit though. On friday I went out for dinner and a movie with some of the blogger girls. We went to Swiss Chalet and then to Scary movie 4. That movie was sooooo funny but not long enough. Then on Saturday Leah invited us over to her home for a visit. Julia met Olivia (Leah's daughter) for the first time and they were friends instantly. Olivia is all Julia talked about for the next couple of days. It was so cute when we were leaving Leah's house because the girls swapped phone numbers. I tell you they sure grow up fast.

As for this week not much is going on. I'm getting the basement measured for the hardwood flooring we're putting down there and I have a little gardening to do, but that's about it. Hope everyone has a great week and hopefully a week of sunshine. I sure need it. My skin is white as a ghost and a have zero time to go fake n' bake.

This picture of Thomas is my picture of the week. He's got a major plumber crack going on. He doesn't seem to care though.

Ouch!

2006-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Everytime Thomas is watching a t.v. show, movie or listening to music he stand on the tips of his toes. Now try doing this at home, it's harder than you think and painful!

My 10 Simple Pleasures

2006-04-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

1. Cuddling in bed with my husband (and always getting a back massage)
2. Watching my girls play "stage" (it's a game where they both sing and dance for shawn and I) They alway make us laugh.
3. Getting kisses from my son Thomas
4. Getting onion rings from A&W. (I have been addicted since I was pregnant with Kailey.)
5. Talking with Shawn (He always makes me laugh, and he makes up new sayings and words all the time.)
6. Reading stories to my girls and now getting stories read to me by Julia.
7. Gardening ( I'm no Martha but for me it so relaxing and rewarding)
8. Sitting on my deck, reading a book or just enjoying the weather. (When we have the sun of course)
9.Getting a babysitter and going out with Shawn
10. Listening to music and singing

I tag Karen and Sarah now. By the way this was such I good idea. Thank you to whoever thought of it!