kids say the DARNDEST things...

Noe reaches and feels around his pockets... perplexed he looks up at me drinking my water and asks "WHERE'S MY NUTS?!?!" i proceed to choke on my water and ask "what?!" Then finding them he pulls out two acorns and says "oh, there they are... i'm glad i didn't break them!" Oh dear me... lol

Em's baptism pictures

Baptism day...

So our little girl has officially gone and turned 8 this year, and for those of you not familiar with our faith, that is the age which we are baptised! This was a great day for Emilie, a good thing considering the stress leading up to it over this past year! Let me explain...

Last summer after her 7th birthday, we talked one night with Emilie, discussing the fact that the next year she would be able to be baptised if she desired. She proceeded to quickly tell us that she did NOT want to be! A little shocked by her answer but curious just the same, we asked her "why?" Her reply will never be forgotten... "because I don't want my eyes to get wet. Can't I just wear my goggles?!?" After a quick chuckle, and "no, i'm very sorry but you can't!" we let the months pass on without much more thought on the matter. This issue persisted though, and the fear remained, till six months later, light glimmered hopeful at the end of the tunnel...

While Emilie was in the tub one day, she called me upstairs to go see her. When i arrived in the bathroom, i found her completely submerged in the water, huge eyes looming up at me and cheeks fully puffed up with all the oxygen they could hold! Seeing me she sat up and said "did you see my eyes mom!!!?!?" I had, she was practicing going under the water with her eyes open, so that she could be brave enough, to be baptized on her birthday =) Sweet girl!

So, on Sept. 5th, 2009, the day finally came. She woke up surprised by how "not even nervous" she was, at breakfast, dressed into her very white and beautiful 'dress #1' and set off with her entourage to the chapel. Patrick proformed her baptism in french, and she did great! She said she was suprised the water was so warm lol, i guess she thought it would be cold!

My dad, Ross Bonneau, confirmed her a member of the church with Patrick, Matt Hall, the elders, and Bro. Ross Lyle (bishopbric) standing in. Her blessing was beautiful. Speaking of her intelligence, her peace making skills, and her importance here, as an example for her friends and family. Mathieu closed the meeting with a scripture and prayer =)

All in all, it was a wonderful day, full of the spirit, with good food and friends to close the day. One down, two more to go, and may my boys' day's go just as well and easy as Em's!

Emilie's Primary talk...

A couple weeks ago, we had a lighting storm with a lot of wind. I was really, really scared. I prayed to Heavenly Father three times for all the lightning and wind to go away so I could fall back to sleep and have good dreams. Heavenly Father didn’t stop it though, but he did help me fall asleep again. So, even though Heavenly Father didn’t stop the wind or lightning, I know he still heard my prayers. He helped me to not be so scared so that I could fall asleep again. Even though Heavenly Father doesn’t always give us what we ask for, he still helps us as best he can. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The faith of a child...

So, as the days fly by and Emilie's baptism approaches, details are being looked after and dresses (yes plural lol Only for her i tell ya!!) are being ordered. The other day though, we had disappointing news that my brother, the beloved Uncle Mike, was suddenly not able to attend due to a sick co-worker.

Now for those who don't know, Emilie and Uncle Mike have been sealed at the hip since Emilie was about 6mths old. After he realized she wasn't quite as fragile as she looked he began to cart her around playing every game imaginable. Then while Patrick was at basic training and I was on bed rest while pregnant with Mathieu for 3mths Uncle Mike became her primary source of entertainment, bonding them forever more.

So, back to the baptism, Emilie was sad, but resigned that he couldn't come. She knew that if he could, he would and that was enough. Last night though, we knelt down by her bed and she began to say her nightly prayers. These are a fairly predictable monologue that really don't change too much from day to day, but last night, she stopped right in the middle and hesitated for a moment. She then said "Heavenly Father, please bless that Uncle Mike can come to my baptism so he can watch me get baptised." That was it. Nothing more. She then proceeded on with her usual routine of words and closed. I looked at her afterwards and said that was some good thinking asking for help, kissed her goodnight and left her room.

Well, it's now 2:50pm and that happened at around 9pm last night. May i just say that around 15 minutes ago, i got a call from Uncle Mike, clarifing the date of the event and then saying that he can now actually come.

Some may say that it's just a co-incidence, a fluke, whatever. I know better. That little girl's prayer was heard the minute those words were uttered. The faith of a child knows no boundries, something that, we too, could learn from.

Stitches and Ferry rides...

We had the pleasure of going down to Anacortes for the July 4th celebrations this year and have to admit, those Americans know how to put on a fireworks show! We got great seats right infront of the firework pit and the kids had an absolute blast. Our real adventure began though, on our way back home.

We took the Anacortes/Sidney ferry home this time and had a relitivly low key sail. We got to see a pod of Orca's which was very kewl. The kids had never seen them before in the wild and we watched quite a large pack with a couple babies do tricks and swim quite close to the ferry. After we docked and the captian said we could return to our vehicles we proceeded to pick up our stuff and begin our treck below decks. Well, we didn't make it 50 paces before Noe' tripped over his own feet and "SMACK" hit the floor. In the mind boggling way that only mom's can, i had him up and kleenex smacked onto his split lip in seconds waiting for the bleeding to stop so we could continue our flight down to the stairs. When Patrick and the other two kids reached me he asked what happened, I said his DS (which he had been carring hit him when he tripped and just split his lip and pulled the tissue away to show him....

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well... lol... no sooner did i pull away the tissue that blood starting dripping in large drops on the floor and i see that it's not only his lip that's bleeding, but his DS actually filletted his chin right open and i can literally see his bone!!! Patrick's face goes sheen and white and i yell at him to sit before he faints, then Emilie from behind me taps me on the shoulder and says "mommy, i don't feel very good" She too is in LITERAL shock!!! white face, sweats, shakes, and nausea! Then there's just lil' old injured Noe' standing there, trying not to cry or move, not at ALL realizing what he's gone and done to himself.
So, we get off the boat, and still have to go through customs, but we make it to Vic General in one piece and better yet, no leaky blood or puek lol.
Noe' sat through freezing and 8 stitches without complaining once, and was only a little sad that they didn't have a spider-man band-aid instead of Charlie Brown =)

Made for one memorable ferry ride i tell ya, and may i just say he healed fabulously, and to this day, i cannot believe how calm and cool he was from the very first moment of injury. He acted the VERY big boy that day

Out of the mouth's of babes...

So, it's nice to know that Patrick and I are truly equal in all things. He's had the honour of being humbled by our son twice these last few weeks, and it's been great knowing that i'm not alone in it!

The first time came the other day while either Noe' or Patrick (i can't remember which) was playing Pokemon on their DS. Now for those who don't know, Patrick as well as each child of ours has their own Pokemon game of different titles, and they work together to catch as many as they can from each game. Well, on this day, like i previously said, one of the two of them (lets say Patrick) caught a certain pokemon. So, Patrick says to Noe' "hey look Noe! I just got this Pokemon!"

To which Noe's reply was "Hey! I have that Pokemon!"
Patrick: "No, I have it!"
Noe': "Noooo, I have it!"
Patrick: "NO, I HAVE IT!"

and well, you can see where this would go. So, after they carried on for a few more rounds, the more mature of the two, *cough* Noe'... proceeds to put his hand on his fathers shoulder and says with all seriousness and a perfectly honest face
"Dad, i think we both have that Pokemon"

Time number two, came again while engrossed in an entertaining game of Pokemon. Patrick was again playing and trying to catch some "stupid pain in the rear" character that was continually evaiding him. Noe' was watching faithfully, as he usually does, but in hearing his fathers umm, "vocal expressions of frustration" lets say, he again turned to him in all seriousness and said "daddy, we really shouldn't say stupid so much" Daddy smiled and shook his head and replied "you're absolutly right Noe', Daddy shouldn't be saying that word at all, and thankyou for reminding me of that."

The real kicker though was when after hearing her brother Emilie looked at me with a smile of knowledge and said with all certainty "unless we're saying that they're stupid drivers, right mom?! That's the only time we're allowed to say it"

Hello Mr. & Mrs. Law!!!

I had the great honour of being part of my dear friend of 10 years wedding last weekend! It was an absolutly beautiful warm day over looking the beach's of Parksville. While Tanya and David said their "I do's" to an intimate group of family and friends looking on, there were many tears and a few good giggles coming from both. My personal highlight, watching Tanya walk down the isle with tears welling, then after he father presented her, she turned to the crowd and said "HELLO EVERYBODY!!! GLAD YOU COULD ALL BE HERE!!" She totally set the mood and it was a great day =)

Duplessis/Montreuil Family Photo's 09

"Full House"

So we had a busy and full house this last week with Patrick's mom, grandma, sister and two nieces all visiting our home from Quebec! Though nervous at the thought of so many more people crammed into our little house, i have to admit, it went far better than first thought! Only Mathieu was displaced out of his room and bunked happily with Noe' so that everyone was able to sleep in or share beds.
The kids were most excited about being able to see their cousins, Alyssia and Maëlie, face to face. They had first met Alyssia a few years earlier, but have only seen her in pictures since. They all got along great, and were happy to know that they do infact have cousins like everyone one else at school!
While they were here, we also had the chance to see Lisa again from www.opheliaphotography.com This time she came to do a shoot for my sister in law Chantal with a couple family shots for us all. She did another wonderful job, and was yet again, patient and longsuffering with my (yes only MY) children! All i have to say is i hope like heck they get better with age!
My house now still, feels oddly empty as they all left on Friday. But we know another trip will come soon enough, and we'll all see each other again soon.

Family Pics Slideshow link if still not working on Blogg

http://s542.photobucket.com/albums/gg425/flygirloo1/Family%20Photos%2009/?albumview=slideshow

Daddy's lil' Protector

I still help Noe' with saying his prayers and tonight was no exception. After his bath, we tromped to his room, knelt down and began saying them like any other night. Well, not a moment after we said "Amen" he looks at me and says "MOM! We forgot to ask to keep Daddy Alive!!!" He then proceeded to bow his head and say "and please keep Daddy safe, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen" Too cute =)

We had our ward talent show last night and our crew "The Fly Family" got up and did some Airband to Phil Collins =) I thought they were pretty darn fabulous! Lead Singer: Mathieu Guitar: (or lack thereof lol) Noe' Dancers: Emilie and Talia Anderson (a little girl I daycare)

My man ♥'s me...

Happy Valentine's Day Patrick!

So, while i was driving home from pre-school runs yesterday, the station that i was listening to played my current favourite song "Sweet Thing" by Keith Urban. I LOOOOOVE this song, and it still makes me teary eyed listening to it! After it was done though the DJ came back on and announced that Keith had set up a site for all his fans to alter and personalize his video for whomever they liked. So, interests peaked, I went online and filled out the form. The funniest part came when it asked for the 'loved ones' favourite farm animal! Well, i had NO idea. Patrick lived on a very 'unconventional' farm growing up with peacocks and llama's. So, i decided to call him, and simply ask. It took longer for him to answer than it did for me to fill out the rest of the questions on the form! Click play on the video below to see what his answer was along with 11 other clues into his life... they're randomly scattered throughout so good luck!

A Prayer for Mother

Yesterday started the same as any other... we all woke up, we all got dressed, i got the kids breakfast, made their school lunches, walked to the bus stop, waved good-bye, and then walked home. Yes, the same as any other. At 11:30am I went to pick up Noe' from pre-school, dropped a daycare child off at their's and then returned home to relax with my lil' man for a bit.

Well, just as Noe' and I walked in the door, the phone began ringing so in I ran to answer. The caller introduced herself as the secretary at Emilie's school, and informed me that my daughter, after eating her lunch, was still hungry and wanting more. She had the choice of eating the Repas Chaud (a.k.a hot lunch) or i could bring her something from home. Since i had just gotten in, I suggested the Repas Chaud but asked to talk to Emilie first so i could let her know that she had no other option, and even if she didnt' like it, that was all she was gettin'! After all, she had already eaten a full lunch from home... hadn't she?

So, Emilie gets on the phone, and after explaining that she had to eat what they gave her, she understood and was kewl with that. Before hanging up though i asked, "how can you still be hungry after your lunch? You had all the same stuff you always have, sandwich, snacks, and a drink. Was that not enough today?" Her reply, though baffeling, was simple "you didn't pack me a sandwich today, just the snacks"

We then proceeded to do the highly mature and always pleasent "yes, i did" "no, you didn't" on the phone until i conceeded that I simply must have put her sandwhich in the wrong lunch kit, apoligized and told her to enjoy the hot lunch of the day.

After all the kids came home, i discovered that no one else got her sandwich, i somehow simply forgot to make it. I felt awful, and a little perplexed as to how i could forget something so engrained into my daily routine.

Later that night though, as Emilie is saying her personal prayers, after blessing all those she usually does, she throws in a humbling, and perfectly serious, request for me... "and please Heavenly Father, help mom to not forget to make me a sandwich tomorrow, so that i won't be hungry at school again."

Needless to say, when tomorrow came, i did not forget. And hope never to do so again =p

I'm NOT a child of God... I'm just Noe'!

So, a few months ago we had our annual Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation, and all our kids were very excited to do their parts. Emilie had quite the paragraph to read, and though she's never been taught to read in english she did it very well. Mathieu too was very excited to actually be allowed to speak into the microphone. He not only said his line, but tried to speak on behalf of many other children as well, to the amusment of the congregation. Then there was Noe... all Noe had to say was "My name is Noe, and I am a child of God" He got as far as "My name is Noe'" but that was as far as he would ever go. Whether in practice or when show time came, he simply refused to say more. When asked why, he gave a perfectly simple and yet logical answer... "My name's not "I am a child of God", I'm just "Noe"! "

My little man is learning how to spell his name in french at school, and this is him before christmas showing the fruits of his labours =)

He's just down right adorable!

He's just "That kid"

Today we had the opprotunity to add one more injury to the list Noe's been racking up for himself these last four years.

"What are some of his previous mishaps?" you may ask... well, he's eaten earwig poison, had the trunk of the car slammed on his head, had the cat take a chunk of skin out just under his eye, and the list goes on.

Today though, he did the typical "lets see if the oven burner is actually hot!" test. I was just finishing making dinner, and out of the corner of my eye, i see his hand reach over to the stove that had just been turned off. Sure enough, my "STOP!" is that second too late, and he ends up with not only a burnt finger, but fried nerves from my panicked scream! Patrick took over then, and set him up with his hand in a bowl of ice water. So, for 20 mins, there he sat holding his fork in one hand and a block of ice in the other.

I guess every family has to have one danger magnet, and Noe just happens to be ours. To think this is only the beginning is just a little bit frightening!

"That's not Daddy... that's somebody else with you mom!"

While i was putting away my laundry today, Noe' gave me a good giggle that I thought i'd share with you all.

On our dresser in our room, our engagment photo from 8yrs ago sits. Today Noe' was checking it out, as he's done often before, and pointing to it, he looks at me and asks "Who's that with you mommy?" Wondering why he would ask, I told him it was Daddy, and he reply's with "That's not Daddy! That's somebody else!" This comment totally takes me off guard and actually made me laugh (which in turn embarrassed the poor guy) but he didn't give up in the least and went on to ask again and a again who it was in the picture.

At one point we were having one of those purly typical little kid arguments of "no it isn't"/"yes it is" repeated till your blue in the face, when i gave up and called Daddy for him so Noe could ask him himself. I guess he figured if i got Daddy involved i must be telling the truth, because he refused to talk to Patrick about it, and after i hung up, said with a half smile on his face, "Ok, maybe Daddy just looks different"

attached is the picture we were arguing over =p

Emilie's directorial debut!

Here's a taste of Emilie's latest work... this was at Patrick's house shortly before we left to return home. She's really too funny!

Christmas with Daddy...

This year we decided that for Christmas, we'd all go down to Anacortes and spend our break at Patrick's house. This turned out to be a wonderful idea! Not only was it nice to spend almost three solid weeks together, but because we weren't at home in Vic, it actually felt more like a holiday than just some time off.
We, like the rest of the province were snowed in for the first week we were there, and with no where to go, we really did enjoy it. Luckily, i had had enough sense to buy two weeks worth of food (included a full christmas dinner) when i first arrived, so we really had nothing to fear, and no where to go. The only issue that really came up was that in my haste of leaving Victoria to catch our ferry, i managed to forget all my personal luggage at home! Luckily i stowed a few last minute items in Emilie's suitcase though (obviously an inspired moment as i look back on it now!) so i at least had three (if not perfectly co-ordinated at least there!) outfits.
Patrick's car didn't fare well in the snow unfortunatly, and he managed to crunch up his front end right before Christmas. Luckily, everyone was fine, but almost five weeks later, we're still waiting on our insurance, and he's still without a vehicle. Hopefully things will be fixed up and back to normal soon... with the lesson that the next time it snows he had better have something with 4WD or else he's to simply stay put!
All in all, we had a great few weeks with Patrick, and made some great memories. Here are some pictures for you to view of not only Christmas, but us playing in the snow, and also some after the snow melted as well =)

Our life of late...

So for all those who don't yet know, Patrick has recently accepted a 3 year posting to Whidbey Island, WA. Due to Mathieu's special needs though, and the obvious lack of french education in the States, we decided to do what's called in the military an IR. That being Patrick moves to the location of his posting but the kids and I stay here. This is actually going alot easier (and faster) than i anticipated, with only a few real hiccup's along the way so far. With it now being January, we find ourselves entering the half way point of our first year apart, and i can only hope that the next 5 batches of "6 month marks" go by just as easily.

I thought that i'd post some of our pics from "down south" for those of you who haven't yet had opprotunity to view them. They're taken at Patrick new home down there, and at the State beach just a few minutes from his place. We all love going down there, it's one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. He truly lives in one of those little towns where everyone knows everyone else, and no large discount chain is allowed entrace! One day i'll have to go around the town and take some pics of the beautiful colloniel houses. They're beautiful, and everywhere it seems! Enjoy!

Rain, mud, and a few good men

Today was the day that we had to take down my neighbours fence, and put it up on our side. We've been planning this for a month, but with church closed down for two sundays and then me absent this one past, getting help organized proved to be harder than expected, and to top it off the weather forecast for today was supposed to be high winds and rain! We made a date for 10am this morning anyhew, and simply hoped and prayed that the weather would co-operate and that a few kind souls would come and help at least take it down... putting it back up could always wait till later.

By last night, i still only had two confirmed helpers, and the weather forecast hadn't changed a smidge, and worry was really setting in! With Patrick stuck in the states without a vehicle, and my dad working, i really didn't know how i was going to make this work with only two ppl and myself (none of which with any real prior experience putting up a fence to boot!) So, i simply prayed like heck that all would work out and attempted to fall asleep.

Morning came, and 10am rolled round with the arrival of Bro. McCall and Dan Arnott. Between the three of us, we got going pretty quick and by the time the next two showed up 25 minutes later, we already had most of the fence down! By 11am we had a crew of six wonderful men working in the mud and rain, not only taking the fence down, but also putting it up again in my yard! By noon, there was not one of us who was clean or dry, but the work was done, lunch was served, and all with my sincere gratitude.

I'm so thankful to all who came to help, and the next time any of them need a fence put up... count me in! =)

Hello and Welcome!

So, I've decided that I should finally take the plunge and start a family blog. There were many reasons as to why i decided to do this, but two stand out more than any others...

#1) I'm HORRID when it comes to keeping in touch via phone calls or mail, and for all those who do not yet (or may ever!) use facebook, this is a much easier way for me to keep you all informed on our daily lives!

#2) I was thinking the other day about the circumstances of house fires and natural disasters and how, if one should occur, what i would consider cherished enough to want to take with us. One of those major things is, of course, family memorabilia (photo's, journals, etc). Thanks to the lovely internet, we can now use it as a tool of sorts, to preserve our history a bit differently, but safely none the less. So, here i sit, beginning a blog of our daily lives. This way, when the time of crisis comes, i can use my hands to save ourselves rather than trying to gather up a lifetime of papers and albums.

So, here's to a new age of emergency prepardness, and if all goes well, a glimpse into our daily lives =)

Jacqueline