Terry Fox Run

My Grandma (Lorna Aitken) is walking in the Terry Fox Run
http://www.terryfoxrun.org/local/asp/r/e/47382

Thought we could help her raise some money. She says she thinks this is her 14th year and she has been the oldest walker for the past 4 years. She is 92 and says she will walk 1km. She has lost 2 sister, a brother, a brother-in-law and my wonderful Grandpa to Cancer......she walks for them. She will also be walking in memory of Eileen Webb - who always challenged her to raise more.Give a little or a lot. The Power of $1 - If 400 people just give up a cup of coffee and donated a $1..........$400.Spoke with her today, she said she is the oldest person in town. I have a hard time believing it as she is so full of life. This weekend my sister and her family will spend the weekend in Eyebrow, SK.

Survived Stampede

I am proud to say that we have survived yet another Calgary Stampede. A great event that brings travellors from all over the world. It is 10 days of fun, celebrating and for those who really get involved a lot of drinking. I went out one night with 2 girlfriends and had a blast watching people. I did come away wondering what the tourists say about our city when they return home after a week of experiencing the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. We are a young city full of young families, a prosperous city due to a great economy, and a short drive from the Rocky Mountains. There is lots to see and do as a family in and around our city that happens to include the Calgary Stampede. For 10 days most people pull out their cowboy hats and cowboy boots and dust them off for a week of fun. When it is all over, the boots and hats for most go back in to the closet for another year and life returns to normal. Honestly, we are not like this all year round. Check us out, you may just decide to take your next family vacation to Calgary.

Don't let your busy schedule take away from having fun!

I noticed that it has been a month since I posted. Boy have I been having fun. Summer continues to bless us with great weather, we had a trip to Sask. to visit family, I have been partnering with some great business partners and growing my business, we have been spending time with friends and living life and much much more.

Don't let your busy schedule take time away from you enjoying life. Life is too short to not have fun. Enjoy the little moments! Pick up the phone and call that friend that you have not seen in a while. They may be needing your call. Take a walk to the park with your family. Make the most of the summer, it won't last long.

Summer has arrived!

Since the nice weather has approached so does the work in the yard. Between cutting grass, digging dirt and planting trees it feels like I have started another job. Fortunately, I can plan my business around my family and my life and do both at the same time. As the days continue to get warmer, take the time to enjoy your family, admire the flowers, take in the fresh smells of summer and relax. Pour yourself a cold glass of ice tea or lemonade and ENJOY!

BBQ Anyone?

I was thinking about having a BBQ tonight! Would anyone like to join me????

What a Surprise?

Well it was a hit! My husband turned 40 this past week. I have been planning a surprise birthday party for him for a couple of weeks now. All managed to keep the secret including our 3 year old. We had 30 plus people go through our house on Saturday evening and he had no clue it was happening. He got to put his new BBQ to the test and cooked up a storm. We had lots of fun with friends and enjoyed it all. Thanks to all who made this day a special one!

The Sheriff is in Town!

On April 20th, 2007, my husband graduated from Class 5 of the Solicitor General and Public Security Recruit Training and is officially a Sheriff to serve and protect all of us. The graduation was amazing and very traditional. An amazing thing for our girls to see! We are so proud of him and see the twinkle is his eyes again as he is doing something that he loves.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

A great Big Happy Birthday goes out to my niece, who turns 6 today. I hope you had a great sleepover on Friday. I wish I could have been there.

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Love Auntie Candice

Congratulations!

It is time to celebrate the achievement that my husband has accomplished over the past 6 weeks. He is officially done his 6 week training and his graduation is on Friday. We are all so proud of his accomplishment and his belief in himself that he has completed this journey. The girls and I are driving up for his graduation tomorrow and we are excited for many reasons. For the girls, they have not seen their father in 2 weeks and they are ready to have him home. We are all excited at what this journey is going to continue to bring us as a family. Looking forward to having Papa back at home and a part of the family.

We are all so proud of you!

Spring is finally around the corner!

How time flies when you are having fun?

Since my last post, Easter has come and gone, I painted my kitchen and main floor bathroom with the help from my mom, my husband has less than 2 weeks left of his 6 week training, and I am officially a stay at home mom earning an income with my children by my side.

Spring has taken it's time arriving and we are all looking forward to getting our hands in to the dirt, pulling out the bikes (and leaving them out), watching the plants grow, and meeting new people.

Wishing all of you a beautiful Spring and lots of room for growth.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday goes out to my brother-in-law. Have a great day!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

Cheers!

Friendship

We all encounter friendship through our lifetime. Some friends come for a season and some last a lifetime. With my recent injury, I have turned to my friends a little more than usual. I discovered one thing during this time! You sure know who your friends are.

I wanted to take the time to thank all those who have been here for me as I continue to heal, I am left house bound with 2 small children, and have been a single parent for 4 weeks. It reminds me that true friendship will stay through the good and the bad no matter what. This last 2 months would not have gone this good without all you friends who have been here.

The power of ONE

It is truly amazing how one person can make a choice that can change the world. I had the honour of meeting a very inspirational woman last August. Her story was truly amazing and shows just how one person can make a difference. She has devoted her life to making a difference for many children and families in need.

You can also read about her journey, as her book, Bones That Float, was launched this month. Visit the link under Recommended readings to learn more, if you are also inspired by what you see pick up a copy today, you will be glad you did.

Traditions

I had the pleasure of taking part in my very first Italian wedding shower over the weekend. What an experience this was! As a bridesmaid, I was a little more involved in the planning but very unaware that there would be a head table at which I would be sitting. I must say , it was like a mini wedding reception with only women. The event was catered by a local Italian company with a light lunch and enough goodies and pastries to feed at least 400 people. And to think this was just the wedding shower. The wedding will take part on a beach which is not traditional for an Italian bride but the reception will follow and will be very traditional with a sit down dinner of at least 8 courses, I am sure. This has been an experience that is very different from my wedding and I am honored to have been included in all the different traditions.

Growth

We all experience growth in our day to day living. Whether it be personal growth or growth within our family. Growth within our careers. OR growth spiritually. Visual growth of a new flower in the Spring. The growth chart of your children on your wall. Or the growth of a new or existing relationship.

My suggestion to you is to set aside some time today to experience some growth within yourself. Pick up that book that you have been longing to read, do some soul searching, envision your goals and set aside a plan for yourself.

Spring is just around the corner and we are about to experience a lot of growth. You wouldn't want to be left behind, would you?

How do they do that?

Have you ever watched the television show, How do they do that? They take apart myths and movies and try to prove whether they are fact or fiction. Quite cool! Most of the time they are fiction but that is beside the point. It is not the show that initially brought me here.....

We have become a society in which both parents have to work, sometimes 40-60 hours a week just to make ends meet. If they have small children they go to daycare, preschool or school and spend a couple of hours with their family before bed time. Weekends are spent running around to activities and doing errands that need to be done before Monday arrives again and they start all over. I have had the pleasure of working my career around my family but have recently experienced this lifestyle. My question is, How do they do that? Many families live in one city and one of them work in another. There family takes the back seat to their job. They plan family time around their work and family often gets what is left over.

I think we have it all backwards.....What do you think?

Admiration!

My hat goes off to all you single parents out there. I admire your determination, your drive and your strength to provide the best for your children.

This week is week #1 of 6 in which my husband is away for training so I am experiencing the life of a single parent. As my girls wake in the morning they come in to my room in the hopes that their Papa is there to give them a great big hug and say, "good morning." When they realize the week is not over yet we get on with our day and take one more sleep off the list.

I feel blessed to have a job that allows me to be home with my children as they experience the life of so many other children who see their father's go off to work far away from home, who live in seperate homes from their father's, or who don't know their father's.

To all you single parents, give yourself a pat on the back for the work you do for your family!

Where does the time go?

Do you ever wonder why time goes so much faster the older we get? Is this because we are so focused on the future that we forget to enjoy the present. For children, a week seems to feel like a life time. Yet as adults it seems like we blink our eyes and a whole year has disappeared.

So much can happen in a span of a few weeks and we don't even realize until we take the time to reflect on all that we have accomplished.

My suggestion to you is to take some time to smell the flowers, (for those still in winter weather admire the clear blue skies on a wintery day) play with your children, have a hot bath, read a good book and live life for the moment. Life is too short to not admire every day for it's beauty.

Celebration

I am so proud to take the time to celebrate my husband's courage and drive to always want better for himself and his family. He has never given up on himself despite some hard knocks that have really only made him stronger.

On Feb.22 he was offered a new position with the Sheriff program. He called me from work and I could see his smile through the phone. He sounded like a child who was just let loose in a candy store.

I am so proud of you!

The loss of a great Leader!

Our team experienced the loss of one of our own this weekend. Beth was a true inspiration and leader that helped all of us work from home successfully. She dedicated her time to our team and supporting others in being successful. She became a friend, a mentor, a support, and a teacher to many and she will be truly missed.

Beth had a phenomenal attitude towards life and faced her life every day with a "no excuses attitude." As I reflect back on the past two years and the opportunity to get to know her and learn from her, I have started to gather the gold nuggets that she has provided me. I will forever remember her dedication to her partners, her family and her business.

Beth, you will be missed!

Saskatchewan:)

Some of you may say, WHAT?, WHERE?, or WHO? For those of you who are familiar with Saskatchewan you know what I am talking about. For those of you who don't, Saskatchewan is a Canadian province with many wonders to see. I happen to be from Saskatchewan and have returned this week to see family and host a couple of health and wellness workshops.

As we drove in to Grandma's driveway,my 5 year old immediately observed the piles of snow. She commented," Mama, look at the snow, I don't think we will be having a campfire tonight." Campfires are a favorite past time of ours when visiting Grandma's house, just not when there is 3 foot high snow drifts in the driveway. We will just have to return in the summer to enjoy the campfires, the endless skies and the clean fresh air.

For now we will just enjoy the time with Nana and Grandma before we head out tomorrow to see other family. Until next time......

Love is in the air...

Happy Valentines Day to all!

Today is a day we are all reminded to share our love, affection, appreciation, sharing, etc. And for small children it means cards, treats, chocolate and more. The girls and I have been making cookies over the past few days and today they got to decorate them. They had just as much fun making them as they did in eating them. Yes...they taste as good as they look.

Have a great day with those you love!

Catch Up!

Unfortunately, we had to miss our class last night. It was the topic on Parents and In-laws. With no parents or in-laws near by, maybe this was the right class to miss! Anyways, we have the information and will spend some time this weekend doing our homework. All I know is with only one foot functioning and 2 small children it sure would have been nice to have some parents around to help out, even if they don't speak any English. These are the times when you realize that you are far away from family. For those of you who have family close by, when you feel the need to complain about them think of those less fortunate and be grateful for what they do.

Beauty

Winter has returned for us. Despite the cold that it brings it also brings some beautiful pictures. My favorite thing to see in the winter is frost on the trees. I have attached a photo to share the beauty with all of you.

Habits

It is amazing how we form many habits in our lifetime. For example, sitting in the same place all the time. I tested this out recently with my daughter and gave her the task of picking our seats. It was almost instant that she took us to the same spot every time. Why is this?

Some habits are good, like telling my children "te amo" everyday and some are not.

In our search for crutches, my 5 year old commented to me, "mommy, if you have to buy them you can just keep them for the next time you break your leg!" My kind remark to this innocent comment was I do not plan to make a habit of breaking bones.

We can definitely learn from the innocence of children.

Opportunity

Yesturday I had the opportunity to sit in a forum with 3 very interesting men. A Jewish Rabbi, an Islamic Imam, and a Christian pastor. Yes, you read it right. It was the most profound feeling to have a group of individuals who are painted in the media as hating each other sitting in the same room having a discussion. In the end, I came away with many more questions and a lot of realization that most of us want the same thing...to be good honorable people and to have peace in the world.

Why is this so difficult to do????? Why is religion at the foot of so much wrong? Why does the media play on the evil and steer this towards those who want peace. This only paints a bad picture of those who worship. There are many more who want peace than those who hide behind religion to prove a point.

I realized even more that we need to educate ourselves before we judge anyone. And it is important to not believe everything we hear on the news.

I know this topic often draws a lot of conversation/debate and I would be curious to hear what others think.

Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness:

I was given great advice prior to marriage: I was told to never go to bed angry. Somedays I am really good at following this advice somedays I am not so good. Why is it so difficult for us to forgive? Is it because the initial reason that made us angry was so petty? Is it because we don't want to admit our fault in the situation? Is it because the truth hurts? Holding on to anger only brings us down and keeps us from moving on.

Make the step to forgive. Nobody is perfect. After all we are human. The following steps were recommended by the marriage course in restoring hurt feelings:

1.Identify the hurt
2.Apologize (this is a big one, especially if we have done wrong)
3.Forgive
4.Start again together(cross out the hurt and move on)

This process may be difficult, but the reward in the end is well worth it.

"Forgetting what lies behind and pressing forward to what lies ahead." Philippians 3:13

Out of Commission

If you have children, do you recall how many times you tell them to be careful on the stairs. If so, do they ask why? or how come? I was able to prove to my children yesturday what happens when you are not exactly careful on the stairs. A misstep on the last step earned me a trip to the emergency, an air cast on a fractured foot and two weeks off work. It's a good thing I also earn a living working from home.

I thought I would share with all of you to be careful on that last step, especially if it is before 7:00am and that first cup of coffee!

Pure Enjoyment

I just spent the afternoon with my 2 preschoolers at a birthday party at the local craft store. First, I was unaware that you could have a party like this and second, what a great opportunity to watch my girls creativity. The greatest was having the mess away from home. I think I will have to consider this for future parties. My daughter's both created a ladybug jewelry box to bring home and proudly show their papa what they made. Supplies needed: a small round box with lid, red paint, black paint, a paint brush, black foam stick on material, 2 eyes, glue and a large green leaf

The greatest thing about this is that life has allowed me to take the time out to enjoy these precious moments with my girls.

Handling Conflict

Unfortunately, we are often surrounded by conflict. Whether it be with family, friends, co-workers, spouse, etc. The ability to deal with conflict helps us to resolve the issue easier, accept fault and move on.

In continuation to our class we talked about the art of communication. We came home with an exercise to talk about our feelings more, and more importantly to listen to our partner's feelings without interrupting, criticizing or offering advice. This is hard to do if one of you always wants to give advice, and tell the other what to do. Try it! You will be amazed at how often you interupt when you are having a conversation. I think we can all work on our listening skills just a little.

Our class talked about the Four Principles for Handling Conflict:
1.Expressing our appreciation for each other
2.Recognizing our differences
3.Negotiating areas of conflict
4.Learning to pray together, or for each other

Quoted from the Marriage Course

The last may be difficult for some to do if you are not comfortable with prayer. I am sure at times we want more for our partners whether it be strength, guidance, or support.

The best thing about the class is we get to take time out of our busy schedules to have a date, have supper prepared for us, meet new couples and to spend time improving our marriage.

The Art of Communication

Effective Communication is the key to life. Without it you are left in the dark wondering what went wrong and assuming the worst. Effective communication involves 3 key factors, the message, the sender and the receiver. As we go through life we encounter many barriers within these 3 that get in the way of effective communication. We get upset, we back away, we point fingers, we lay blame, and we often forget to look at ourselves and how we can improve in communication.

To improve, it is best to look within, change our unlikable behaviours and LISTEN. Life can pass us by when we are not listening and we can miss the most important lessons. We all have bad habits that stop us from being good listener's. Such as, interrupting, giving advice, reassuring, intellectualizing, and making the situation about us. Maybe the other person just wants us to listen! Try it! You may be surprised.

Something to ponder.

It is amazing in life how things often get in the way. This quote was presented to me tonight in a training and how true it is. Have you ever let procrastination get in the way of your goals? I know I have......


"Procrastination is the Assassination of your Destination" .
John Consentino

It is amazing with team support and encouragement what you can accomplish. It leaves little room for procrastination and a lot of room for growth. A big thanks goes out to an incredible member of my team today for all of her support. :)

Love

Last night we started an 8 week class on strengthening and building a healthy marriage to last a life time. We joined 8 other couples, we were served dinner, met new people and then watched a video. Over coffee, dessert and candlelight, individually we discussed some great questions that helped us take stock in our marriage.

The first session was about building strong foundations. I wanted to share some tidbits:

Love is more than feelings
*a definition of love - meeting the needs or desires of another, sometimes at a cost to ourselves
*the greatest need of our husband or wife is to feel understood and loved

I came away remembering it is best to be proactive versus reactive when responding to any relationship.
*Proactive-focusing on each other's desires
*Reactive-focusing on each other's behavior

What a great way to spend an evening with my husband. Stay tuned for the Art of Communication!

Cherishing Every Moment

As life moves forward, we often find ourselves on a fast moving train that goes around corner's, up and down hills, through dark tunnels and beside beautiful clear blue lakes. For many, it is difficult to see the beauty this train ride brings us every day because we are focusing on what is at the end, who was right or wrong about the direction or how to make it stop. Often it takes a loss, a scare, or a tragedy to make us slow down and cherish the important things in life. As we have recently been hit with some scary realization that life can be cut short, it forces you to take a step back and say, "what can we do differently in life to not miss the important things." Fortunately, this was only a scare to make us take this step back to cherish family and friends who are near and dear to our hearts and value each and every relationship.

The excitement in NEW

The smell of a:
newborn baby!
the spring!
the rain!

These are just some of the things that bring a smile to my face. I am always excited to try new stuff and to experience new things. I attended Launch this weekend and they launched new and exciting products to simplify life. It always helps to have life simplified a little.

Proud moments!

I wanted to take a moment to celebrate a very special person in my life. First and foremost she is my sister and in April 2005 she also became my business partner. We often joke about her getting started to help her little sister and that I saw the potential for a great business partner. Boy did I know best this time! She has taken every day as a new day and grown her business to new levels. I learn something new from her every day and more importantly I get to talk with her everyday. Despite the many miles between us, I often feel very close to her and her family. Our business has helped us grow within ourselves, gain and learn new leadership, build new relationships with business partners around the country and value the most important things in life, family.

Hat's off to you, sis! I am so proud of you!

Keep up the great work!:)

Family Photo

It is a New Year and it was time for an updated Family Photo. So off we went. We got 3 children all dressed up and set off for the photo shop. On the way, we promised the children if the photo went well we would take them out for dinner. We got to the photographer's early and were done our session by 2 minutes after our appointment. As we were closing out our session, our oldest commented, "Do we get to go for Chinese Food now?" Best bribe I have given my children. We were in and out within 15 minutes, had 2 photos taken and I did not have to make dinner.

Planning ahead often helps us to be more successful at what we do!

Goals for the New Year!

As I take a moment to sit and contemplate what the New Year has to offer, I first must reflect on 2006 which has been a wonderfully successful year in many ways. New jobs, the start of Kindergarten and preschool, relationships with family and friends and health.

2007 is already beginning to be a great year with new job growth within our family and our home based business.

With every New Year comes resolutions as we reflect on the past and on the future. We set short term goals and long term goals that we can work towards as we grow as individuals and as a family.

My goals for the New Year are:
To embrace all the joy and challenges of parenting my two young girls.
To continue to be a support to my husband and my family.
To grow my business.
To help my business partners achieve their goals.
To establish a excersize regime that I can maintain.
To enjoy every day.

Wishing you all the success and happiness in the New Year!

New Beginning's

It is the New Year and time for New beginnings. I have stepped into the world of blogging.