Family-Focused Advent Activities

Every December we go through our Family Advent Calendar. Inside each box is a family-related activity that the kids look forward to leading up to Christmas. It's a time for intentional togetherness which is a family value and usually quite fun. We try to make the activities a mix between giving, sharing, learning, and experiencing.

What are some advent activities that we include?

1. Play a board game as a family.

2.  Make a card for someone.

3. Decorate cookies.  

4.  Make crepes for dinner.

5. Go on a family outing!  Locally we have Timberline Country Christmas, Capilano Canyon Lights,  FlyOver Canada, Heritage Christmas,  and Vancouver Christmas Market to name a few.

6. Decorate the house.  

The kids love the nativity sets–we have a few.

7.  Visit grandma and grandpa. 

It's always fun to visit loved ones during the holidays!

8.  Go see Santa.  

Last year we went to the one at Port Kells Nurseries and will go back there–just bring something for the food bank!

9.  Choose an item in the Compassion Gift Guide to donate to someone in need. 

{Last year Kai raised about $45 going door-to-door selling  Chocolate Bark to raise money to provide a bike to someone in India! You can check out the online guide here.}

10. Play hide-and-go-seek in the dark.  

This is their absolute favourite activity every year; I usually just hide in the closet and enjoy some alone time.

11.  Go look at Christmas lights.   

Our neighbourhood is fantastic for decorations so the kids love running around and choosing their favourites. There is usually hot chocolate afterwards, too.

12.  Walk to Tim Hortons and get a donut.  

They have their Christmas ones out; who doesn't love sprinkles?

13.  Go bowling with the whole extended family.  

We go bowling once a year and it's a wildly chaotic and fun event with 20+ of us! I believe this tradition has been going for 8 years now.

14.  Build a gingerbread house. 

Well, let's be honest, buy a pre-built house and decorate it.

15. Go snowshoeing! 

While doing these activities, we often have Christmas music playing (oh, how I love it!) and we will talk about the true meaning of Christmas: celebrating Jesus' birth. There's Christmas church services and the kids have their performances at school and preschool–I enjoy this time of year.  

I hope you are looking forward to December because I sure am.

If you'd like to pin it for later, you can find it here.

Love, 

Louise

Are You Covered?

When Gary and I were first married, we had only been working a few years and didn't own anything substantial other than our cars.  We were renting a basement suite and life was relatively simple.

Six months in, we got pregnant with our first son and bought our very own home!  It was so exciting to be part of the whole building process and we were happy to be homeowners.   It felt a bit overwhelming to hand over all of our savings into a down payment and then lock into a mortgage but we were both working full-time so paying our house down felt financially comfortable for us. At that time, we felt that if anything were to happen to either of us, we could sell our home so that the remaining spouse wasn't stuck with a large mortgage.

Somehow life flew by and it wasn't until we had three kids that I realized we really needed a plan in place; you know, "the plan", in case something happened to Gary and I or even just one of us.  Up until that point, family life was pretty manageable and the idea of having to work full-time if something happened to Gary seemed realistic.

Upon the arrival of our Miss Nya, I realized that it would be too difficult (impossible really) for me to work, pay for daycare and school, and take care of these wildly energetic kids if Gary passed away.  Having three kids is a HUGE responsibility.  Now, in case you're thinking "What are the chances of something actually happening?", let me tell you that both of my parents have had cancer and my mom passed away from it at the age of 53.  My dad has also had a major heart attack–so basically, I have some less-than-desirable genes and plans need to be made.

The first step was to have a will in place.  We went through a lawyer and decided who was our executor and who the guardian of our children would be; it was a huge relief to have this in place and I would highly recommend getting a will done properly.

The next step is what we are in right now.  If Gary passed away, there are some benefits through his work (like many jobs, one to two years salary) but what would I do after those two years? How could I possibly pay the remaining years on our mortgage on my own?  We would have to move, and at this point, ten years in, it's not just a house–it's our home full of valuable memories.  And what if something happened to me?  How would Gary pay for childcare while having a smaller household income? We've been considering life insurance but have put it off due to an assumption that it would take a lot of time, money, and paperwork.

Recently I came across Manulife's Cover Me Application and tried it out. The application takes you through some key questions and asks that you indicate the amount of coverage you would like.  I timed the online questionnaire and I moved through it in just one minute–there's nothing to download, you just click the link and choose your answers!  Then, they sent me a quote via email which arrived 30 minutes later.

I would encourage you to check out how much life insurance would cost you– it takes one minute of your time but could give you a life-time of piece of mind in regards to the "What if..." question. You can find it here.

If you'd like to learn more, there will be a twitter party on November 25th at 9 pm EST (6 pm PST).  If you've never been to a twitter party, they are wild–you'll see what I mean. Forget Sudoku and crossword puzzles to keep your mind sharp, these chats go quickly!

Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts on life insurance. I know often people don't like to talk about money but I think it's important for us to be open about these things with our kids so they learn early on how to make a financial plan.

So, life insurance: Do you plan on getting it?

Love,
Louise

{This post was sponsored by 360ACCESS on behalf of Manulife. The opinions are my own.}

Final MEC Langley Race of 2015

This year I participated in the MEC Race Series in Langley; six races over the year which offered 5 km and 10 km options (and marathons if you're wild.)  I really enjoyed it because it was local, affordable ($15/race!), and laid back.  This morning was the final race and Kai participated in it with me!

I haven't been able to train very much over the past few months so my running time since the summer has gone down but at least I'm still doing it, right?!  Today's race was a nice 4 km one at Tynehead Park in Surrey.  The weather was so cold but gorgeously sunny!

I knew that Kai and I wouldn't be running together because he's quite a bit faster than I am–I love it!

Gary waited at the finish line with the other three kids to cheer us on when we returned. 

Kai finished fourth for the men (there is no kid's category) and I'm very proud of him!

So sweet to have these two ringing the cowbells!

It was a hilly race which isn't my favourite but the trail is a beautiful one! I hope to be in better shape next year, but if I'm not, I'll still participate again.

If you'd like to consider it, you can buy a Race Series Value Pack for 2016 which includes five races for $60.  The first one isn't until March so if you need some time to train, you've got it–I'd love to see you there!

Love,
Louise

Five Reasons My Husband Was Awesome This Week

Gary often does some wonderful things (which I try to focus on) and here are a few from this week:

1. He made Kaluha ice cream with candied bacon for a special dessert. There was even whipped cream which I love.  Gary doesn't even drink alcohol but he's mixed me up some fun concoctions over the past few weeks!

2.  He is sure to answer the surveys on each receipt.  This has paid off HUGE as he won a great prize last month ($1,000 worth of points to Loblaws!)

3.  He doesn't like flannel sheets but he does it for me in the winter AND he will warm up my side before I come to bed.  Awwwwww...

4.  He prepares my coffee while I shower in the morning.  I can hear the coffee beans grinding as I get ready upstairs. Please note: Gary doesn't even drink coffee.

5.  He got up at 5 am with our Little One all week.  No photo of this because I was sleeping on those flannel sheets about to meet my morning coffee.

Thanks for reading my first edition of Five on Friday.  I wonder what I should write about next Friday...

Love,
Louise

Don't forget to check out these other Canadian bloggers and their FiveOnFriday posts!

• If you're interested in making life simpler, and also honesty from a nerdy mom of three, check out Shawna from Simple on Purpose.
• Local to Edmonton, this mom is blogging about a little bit of everything. Things to do with the family, a simple DIY, or life as a family of 5 here. 
• Check out the blog that is basically all things in life at Eclectic Soapbox, because variety keeps it eclectic.
• For Everything and the kitchen sink that happens in life, Check out Canadian Basics for your 5 on Friday for laughs and fun!
• For tips on green living on a sensible budget with a smattering of parenting, ranting and raving, check out Juicy Green Mom!

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for:

1.  Relaxing Saturday afternoon.  One kid at a party, one kid had a play date here, and our Little One on a visit.  Lots of driving but very little fighting for two hours. Exhale. And then they all came home...

2. Slippers.  I'm a bit picky about slippers as my feet need support so these are a great fit from Superstore!

3. Living in Canada. I've been all the way across this beautiful country twice (both by car and train) and it's so incredible.

4.  A husband that sneaks special things into my suitcase.  Ah, Rum & Coke (Pepsi.)

5. Reading books with my kids.  I like that we are almost all done with the baby/toddler/preschool books and moving on; time for some variety!

6.  My MEC vest. I've had it for 14 years and it is a wonderful temperature regulator for me.  It's been with me to the top of Kilimanjaro and through each pregnancy.  Love you, vest :)

7. Melissa & Doug toys.  I appreciate that their toys are educational and made of wood.  The Littles are obsessed with letters so it was fun to pull this out.

8. Date with my sisters!  The Price is Right Live! is coming to Abbotsford  in the Spring and we're all going together. With my luck, Maria's game knowledge, and the three younger sister's energy--we should be good! "Louise Chapman--come on down!"

9. Facebook friends to the rescue!  Kai has a friendly soccer game against another school this week and he needs cleats to play.  I didn't want to buy some for one game and so I put the question on facebook. Voila--cleats for today's game!  Thank you to Nya's preschool teacher :)

10. A successful Santa visit.  Our Little One's mama wanted a photo of her child with Santa.  I was so nervous because this could've gone so many different ways and I had no idea if Santa would come across as scary or fun. Fortunately, our Little One loves Santa! Yay :) Merry Christmas to all.  Pretend there is a picture of a super cute kid smiling on Santa's lap here.

I hope that you are having a good week and finding things each day to be thankful for.

Love,
Louise

When Expectations Are Not Met

We have some rules in our family, you know, things like showing respect, eating together, and not screaming. Well, guess what? When you have a child that comes from a completely different upbringing through fostering, you can have a routine and you can model behaviours but when they are in a situation where they feel little control already, they are definitely going to exert their independence.  This is good – you want them to have the ability to make some choices but it's hard when you feel like you know what the right option is.

Our Little One has come so, so far and yet we can get so, so frustrated.  We have expectations for behaviour and when they aren't met, or they are purposely disobeyed, it's hard. We have to continually remind ourselves that in order to prevent getting angry, we cannot have the same expectations on our Little One. This child might need to eat apple slices on the couch for dinner while we all sit nicely around the table. This child might climb up on my chair and start typing on my computer AGAIN when my own kids would not dare. This child might require that I have a hand on their leg while they drift off to sleep every single night. This child might not listen to the word "stop!" and run away giggling even in serious situations. This child might require 100 repetitions to learn something whereas it might have taken my own child five. We still encourage our Little One to make wise decisions but need to be patient with the process.

Friends, this is hard and I don't feel equipped. The anger that comes from my unmet expectations – this is MY problem.  I need to continually remind myself of this, because otherwise, this lack of patience comes out on my own kids and husband, too. I'm disappointed in myself and I feel like I fail every single day...I know I'm a good mom but all the good parts seem to get lost in the frustration. When my kids look back over the day, will they remember the fun at the playground and cuddles on the couch or will they remember mom raising her voice yet again?

I think an adjustment of expectations has to happen so many times in our lives; from marriage to friendships to parenting – we need to love people for who they are not what they do.  This whole parenting thing is tough; all we can do is get up each day, try our best, and hope to learn to adjust along the way. Much love to you all going through this.

"Children are not a distraction from more important work.  They are the most important work."– C.S. Lewis

Love,
Louise