2011 is coming

Well as this current year comes to a close I contemplate the past year.
I am thankful for a great husband and daughter.
I am grateful for my health.
I am happy for work to have kept me busy and welcome the challenge of the new tasks it brang.
I am lucky to have great friends and family who love me.

Looking back, I have had a fantastic year.
I only had a little bit of a relapse in January, I was lucky to be able to spent my entire summer outside. I planted many flowers and enjoyed watching them grow. I helped build Gracie's fort.
I was lucky enough to have great friends to spend almost every weekend in the entire year.

I may not have the best house or the most money but I am quite happy.

Can you truly ask for more?

I hope that 2011 brings us all hope and happy times. I Do not wish bad thing to anyone however the bad helps us realise how special the good times really are. So they are welcome too.

Happy new years eve to all and all the best for the new year.

Wish...granted!

I hope your Christmas day was spent doing exactly what you like doing.
I hope there was joy, laughter, sharing, friends, family and food!

What a great day it was!

As you know we have been busy little bees doing what we love to do this past December. Sure at times we get tired, frustrated, run down and overwhelmed but Christmas day makes it worth every minute!

Here is how our Christmas has gone...

First we spent our evening last night "not avoiding" family but being with "our" little family!
We picked Grace up at 8 or so and she was just as pooped as we were! In the car she wanted to see the lights so we drove around looking at the great light displays so many people put together. Last month is was our "dream" to start small and get bigger and better next year. We didn't have the budget to go big or go home this year! When we got home we realised someone (or 2) stole the few light displays we had set out. I was heart broken. We all were. Gracie likes to touch our lights and was looking forward to it since we had seen so many lights.
Can you say Scrooge was in our neighbourhood?

So we told her we would celebrate Christmas in the house...
She bit, we had a tub, ate chicken, "Daw Daw" (this means drawing in our house!) and then opened gifts! Then it was bed! Ah...bed!

This morning we got up super early, got ready and went to Mark's parents. They made breakfast and we had our Christmas there before heading to the DI. What fun to see Grace playing with gifts! I love to give but am not very comfortable receiving so it was great to see all the faces!

The DI..What a fantastic day!
We got there, set everything in motion and let the day happen. Mark and I worked so hard these past few weeks for this perfect day and it was just that.
Like every year we had the best volunteers EVER!
They are dedicated, happy, helpful and smiling.
They help make the Christmas what is should be for our homeless friends. "Warm and Fuzzy"

The morning volunteers had so much fun and didn't want to leave. The afternoon volunteers came and were very happy to take over. The Morning's trained the Afternooner's and we were able to visit with the volunteers, trouble shoot and make sure all the volunteers were happy. We didn't do much work and that is a good thing. All the volunteers come in wanting to be helpful and they were fantastic!

Thank you for being there, believing not only in Santa's workshop but in our Wishlist program.

I am now headed to bed to rest up for the last day of our Christmas Craziness!

Merry Christmas and to all a great night!
...
And a very happy birthday to my Mom and my best gal Chantale too!

Pumpkins in December?

"look Mommy...Pumpkin!"
"Where Gracie?"
"Right there mommy" ...she points...
"Where?...the Snowman?"
"Yeah! the pumpkin!"

Welcome to a minute conversation with Grace!
So the next time you are talking with me and I am just not getting it...It's probably because I have brain washed to have a completely diffrent vocabulary!

I have been working like a mad woman this month. I love it but I am ready to celebrate with the DI clients and then veg at home!
Along side by side to Mark we have been working double time this past month to make sure the Clients at the DI get a Christmas worth celebrating. Our hearts are at the DI on a regular day but this time or year it just seems more important.

For my tidbit this week of writting I want us all to think of the important things we don't stop and take time for during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Grace has been at the DI with us morning noon and night. He have been noticing that she has been far more needy lately. I finally this past weekend... "I miss you mommy..." Break my heart.

Last night Mark and I took a break from work. We got home for 5, delivered gifts to our great neighbours, ordered a pizza, rented a Christmas movie and snuggled on the couch.

This was exactly what Gracie wanted. Time.

Did you remember to take Time lately?
Time to say Hi, or ask how a day is going, offer a pat on a back for work well done?

Thy it...it's far more rewarding then anything else you will do this busy time of year...I promise!

Volunteer...It's a good thing!

We've all heard or been told how great volunteering can make you feel, what great things can come from a few hours of your time given to a good cause.
Mark and I have run the Christmas programs at the Drop-In.

This year it has been a bigger commitment but very well worth it.

We run the Sock program. This program is simple. In our homes we all get to have goodies in our stocking on Christmas morning so we make sure the DI residents have one too. We get stuff we mostly don't need or will forget about in a few days.
For the clients we give them a stocking of items they need. Things they will use for a few weeks or even months!
Mark makes a call out to all his volunteers. The big corporate companies, the church groups, the school groups and the individuals. He asks for donations of socks (the ones we use everyday), hygiene supplies, coffee mugs, candy, gift cards, bus tickets...you name it we'll take it!
We then get groups to come in and help stuff the socks. We take one of the socks and stuff it's mate in the toes. We then stuff it with as much stuff as we can fit and deliver to the clients on Christmas morning.

We also run the Wishlist which I have spoken about on my blog before. We just finished entering the stories into the website and as it stands today we have 50% of our clients sponsored. Way to go everyone! Thank you for supporting our clients!

Mark and I have been working morning, moon and night. Gracie has been joining us and she even helps sort some of the donations. It means the world to me to show Gracie the true meaning of Christmas. She loves going to daddy's work! Her eyes go big and she starts to squeal! Too fun!

One thing that was new this year was we entered the stories on the database ourselves. It was amazing to read all these stories but what hit me hard was the interview questions "What puts you in the holiday mood?"

I think people often forget that the homeless are human too.

I think it's safe to say that 60% of the clients said that the thing they enjoyed the most was "the look on kids faces on Christmas morning" and "Kids seeing Santa". Doesn't this warm your heart?
The clients love when we bring Gracie in. They want to play with her, read to her, they sing to her. They offer their own snacks or chocolates just to make her happy and I am happy to bring her in. These people don't get to be with their families, they don't get to see their kids all the time, they miss the everyday things that we all take for granted.

What will you do to help this year?
What puts you in the holiday mood?

There are lots of things to think about...

Physio, chiro, doctor - repeat!

Being part of a car accident is never fun. Being in one just before Christmas is a major pain. Being in one and having to involve WCB (Workers Compensation Board) because it's the law...well that takes the cake.
The first thing you are supposed to do when injured at work is to report it to your employer and complete a WCB form. Well, when you are in a car, heading to a course that you wanted to take the last thing you think of is...hmmm.. I really should call WCB...
I got into trouble for being late completing that report but they gave me a break.

I have been struggling with MS symptoms since the accident. The jar from the accident completely undid the progress I've done over the past year with my upper cervical care with Dr. Kale. I could cry. I hadn't been to the chiro in almost 2 months and I am back to going twice a week. I used to get my neck adjusted once every 3-5 months. I have been adjusted 6 times in 2 weeks. When my neck is out I get dizzy, nauseated, tired, cranky and just all round icky.

On top of the need for chiro I have had to do Physio. I met the best Physio ever. Her name is Stephanie and she has a great energy and personality. I say it often and here I go again....Thing happen for a reason. It's a small world. Her best friend graduated from the same high school I did! She did great work on my neck, back and shoulders. She has moved back to Ottawa and I wish her the best. It was nice to have a French speaking practitioner. I don't get that very often out here!

I have been doing my regular work while getting better but most of my work has been filing out form after form after form as well as running from one appointment to the next.

Being that I didn't know about the WCB stuff I have been going to a chiro and physio clinic that is not WCB approved. This week I owe almost $900. I've been told that this has to come out of my pocket and that once WCB makes up their mind if they will cover me or not then I might be able to get re-imbursed...yes might...

I am so frustrated....