Noel!

Christmas seemed to have left faster than it came.

This year, we had a stress free, relaxing, and enjoyable Christmas. We kept our shopping to a minimum, and focused mostly on giving to others. While we overdid on the food aspect of the festivities, everything else was relatively simple and non chaotic. As tradition wants it, Marc and I gave each other useful presents coupled with a few yummy treats to eat while watching movies, during those numerous nights we seem to enjoy more often when winter is here. We gave the boys those presents we knew they would like and the customary books, educational 'toys' and movies, to go with the treats they have gotten in their stockings.

The floor space under the three wasn't overflowed with presents like it has been the previous years. Our tree looked beautiful this year, maybe because Yann decorated it all by himself, mostly. He saw a star at the thrift store that he really liked. We bought it so that he could put it on top of our old tree. It has replaced the small, shiny old one we used to have. I love the new star for its simplicity. It is not shiny, neither is it chic or luxurious. It is as plain as can be. It is beautiful! I enjoyed looking at our tree and being able to see the ornaments Marc made decades ago, and some other ones he grew up seeing on their tree when he was a little boy. I enjoyed looking at the ornaments I have been giving to my boys every year on December first. I enjoyed looking at the ones they painted, the ones they made or the ones they brought from school. These made us happy for it represented our family.

We spent Christmas Eve at home with Marc's aunt and uncle, where we ate exotic, French, tropical delicacies. We read the nativity story. and the boys opened their Christmas Eve boxes. Uncle David and aunt Celia opened theirs too. Bed time came and we bade farewell to our guests and sent the boys to bed, all excited about Santa's coming. Yann and Marc made sure the treats where ready for the old jolly fellow and the reindeer to snack on. My husband used a bell that sounded just like Santa's to let the boys know that he was nearing our home and that they needed to close their eyes and sleep. Marc and I waited for them patiently before bringing all the wrapped presents out and put it under the tree, and filled the stockings that were hung. It was a quiet day, a quiet evening.

With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, we each got up early, enjoyed the surprises our stockings held overnight, had a delicious breakfast and left for Church. Singing the beautiful hymns filled us with joy and gratitude for the beautiful gift we have all received of the Savior's birth, the reason for the season. Once home, we opened our presents making sure numerous videos were made, and we watched the joy the boys had, opening each present with excitement and exclaiming, each time, that it was the best Christmas ever. While they know why we celebrate, the presents still are they favorite part about this time. One of the present that I have received from Marc was a nativity and I loved it. It was such a great reminder of this season. This one will stay out all year around. The unwrapping, shouting and excitement felt, while discovering our new gifts, were probably the most chaotic time we had this Christmas season. A good kind of chaos. We ate the good meal Marc has prepared for us, and just relaxed reading books, watching movies, and playing with the boys. It was great to be together, just the four of us.

 As with every year, I missed my family but couldn't help but be grateful to have a family of my own to celebrate with. I love being able to look at my husband and my sons and know that we are an eternal family. I am thankful to have them.

 

Christmas is definitely my favorite time of the year. I truly hope you all enjoyed this season and were able to spend time with your loved ones. It was a very
MERRY CHRISTMAS for our family of four.

A Child's Prayer!

"Heavenly Father, are you really there?

And do you hear and answer ev'ry child's prayer?"

This song in the Children's book of the Church is one of my all time favorite!

I have enjoyed watching my boys, especially Yann, turning to prayer when they need help with something that is important to them, and as simple as asking their Father in Heaven to stop the rain so our family can enjoy a time outside, together, or with our friends. I love to see them pray for each other when they are sick or for me when I am sad. I love to see the joy on their faces when their prayers are answered. I love to catch Yann kneeling at some ode places in our apartment because he felt like thanking God for something that was dear to him. He is such a great example to us and to his brother who likes to imitate him.We teach them that they would be times where Heavenly Father would answer their prayers in a way that would not be pleasing to them but, He will always answer it, no matter what.

One day, I was sick and was sleeping on the couch when I felt my son lay his hands on my head and ask for me to feel better. I cried! He has seen his dad perform blessings often, to realize that this kind of prayer can bring comfort and healing.

My boys may not be perfect in their behaviors but their "simple" faith is teaching me a lot about the verse in Matthew 18:3 "..., Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven".

House Hunting!

Here's another question we've been asked a lot lately. Are we planning on buying a house soon?

Our house in Lloydminster sold four months ago and while we were not planning on looking around for a new one, until next year, we decided to look at a couple of them just out of curiosity when we came back from Tahiti.

Right now, we are undecided about where and what kind of house we want. We just know that we do not want to be, house poor. We like the idea of buying something that we can pay off in five years or at the most ten, so we can be done with debt sooner rather than later.

These past few months, we have enjoyed the opportunities, and financial freedom we have of being a hundred percent debt free. What a stress relief it is especially for Marc who provides and takes care of our family.! While living in a small apartment is not ideal, we are grateful to have a place we can call home that allows us to keep warm and where we are able to make happy memories with our children. When moving to Taber and going from a big place to a small place, we realized that the size of the place we lived in was not as important as the people we shared it with. We are happy! Happier than ever! We want to simplify our lives without necessarily denying ourselves of the things we like and love.

One of my favorite talk from Elder Tom Perry is untitled "Let Him Do It With Simplicity". He says: "We have been encouraged at almost every general conference of the Church I can remember not to live beyond our means. Our income should determine the kind of housing we can afford, not the neighbor's big home across the street...One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the counsel we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it."

All that to say that we really just want a simple life where we are not burdened with debt and being able to save even more for rainy days, and/or big family trips, and unforseen expenses.

We stopped looking at houses. We are focusing on other things right now. We know we would be buying one eventually we just have to decide on the when. The saying "Home Is Where Your Heart Is" has never rung so true to us. Home only feels like home when the four of us are together, and it doesn't matter where we are.

A fun getaway!

Saturday night we got to stay in a hotel in Lethbridge, courtesy of Marc's employer. It has become a yearly tradition that my boys and I look forward to every December, for the past three years.

We checked in at three in the afternoon, relaxed a little bit in our bedroom then went swimming for an hour. Once the fun was done in the pool, we went back to the room to enjoy a nice bubble bath and relax in front of the television while papa got ready to go to his company's Christmas party. I have never been to any of these parties. I would rather hang out with my boys doing nothing but being lazy.

Before papa left us, he wrote down our order to place at the Firestone restaurant so we could have food delivered to us in our room. Room service? I love room service!

The steak was GREAT! What I don't show in the picture is
the other slice of cake and plate of chicken.
Papa didn't want us to go hungry haha.

We had a great time! Not having to worry about cleaning the house, or make supper or do this and that was so welcomed. The past two and a half months have been emotionally and physically draining for me so I was happy to have that day of freedom from my every day responsibilities and worries. The boys were great and had a lot of fun! I am grateful for how my sons have been these past few weeks, months. They have been so good! Their kind, caring and loving nature lifted my spirit when I was too busy worrying about things I had no control over. I love them more than I did yesterday and less than I would tomorrow. They are becoming outstanding pillars in my life, and I really, really hope they stay that way.

We had FUN!!! We enjoyed our day of laziness!

The boys! Yann was enjoying his show on the T.V while Marc was building Lego. We let them sleep later than usual and just enjoyed being together, watching cartoons. Once they went to bed, Marc and I binge-watch HGTV!!! I love my family of four and wouldn't change anything about us.

Tis the Season!

I love this time of year where people seem to be nicer than usual and kindness is found almost everywhere you go.

Usually, I get really excited about setting up the tree, displaying my nativities, and decorating, but this time around, I was kind of dragging my feet a bit. My boys were so excited to make our place look like  Christmas that we decided to set up the three a week earlier. I finished my Christmas shopping a couple weeks ago and our little abode is decked out for the holiday. While all looks good, and merry, we are doing things slightly different this Christmas.

Yann has been reminding us, a lot lately, that Christmas is mostly about giving than receiving. So we are focusing a lot about ways we can help families in our community, that our going through rough times. We are putting together food hampers that we would be donating to the food bank. The boys went through their dad's unopened toys, from his collection, and filled a box with toys that they donated to the Taber Toys for totes. I am so grateful for my big boy. He is such a kindhearted boy. We strive to give throughout the year, and help wherever we can every time an opportunity arise, and I hope my sons will remember this from their childhood.

Family home evenings in December are going to be fun! We would talk mostly about our Savior's birth, and read scriptures about the nativity. This week, papa had an object lesson for us where he used the boys nativity, and blocs, and explained the story of baby Jesus' birth. It was a lot of fun!


 I truly love this season! Listening to the hymns we sing at Church and the Christmas music at home, or in the car, makes me happy. Thinking about my Savior brings me joy even when I feel sad. I don't know how it's even possible.

White and Red!

Tonight, Yann tested for his white and red belt. He was really excited about the idea of getting a new one. His teacher, Tony, has been reminding them about this, for the past month, and reminding them also that, they would need to be disciplined and attentive in order to obtain their white and red.

We love their motto: Discipline, integrity, respect! Their teachers are really great. They actually teach them about all three of these values, and remind them when they are not showing discipline, integrity and being disrespectful. I love it! We love it!

We don't regret putting Yann in Karate. Even though he missed a whole month worth of classes, he was still able to follow his teacher's instructions and catching up on the few things he has missed while we were gone.

Yann is so shy, so there were times where he was too shy to do anything when he first got to class, but after a few minutes, he would get into it and get so excited about what he was learning. Since we came back he really got into it, and we are so proud of him and hope it would help him get over his shyness. Having his friend Harlem, from school, makes it extra special for him too.

His friend Harlem (orange pants).

After executing all of the teacher's demands/instructions, most of them were rewarded with their belt while some gained a black stripe on their old belt, since they have started karate later than most.

As parents we kept giving him the thumbs up, and smiling, and trying to take pictures, and all. We were all so happy for him. Marc kept telling him, throughout the day, how he was going to cheer him up at karate. Papa left work, and joined us directly at the dojo, with the camera on his phone ready to capture the result of his son's accomplishment tonight. After he was handed his newly acquired belt, we walked home, congratulating Yann, telling him how proud we were. Once home, we ALL sang "We are the champions" by Queens to our karate kid, and celebrated with a good supper, and a victory drink, because we all need a victory drink, a.k.a bubbly pop, and watch the 1984 classic of Hollywood cinema, 'The Karate Kid'. What a great evening it was! Two more months, and our little Marc would be joining his big brother.

Taber Martial Arts Academy!

Yann san!

Proud papa. Yann was too busy looking at his brother.

My siblings!

My siblings are my favorite people in this crazy world (along with my parents and my boys and husband).

I truly cherish the love I have for them and the close relationship we have, even if I am here in Canada. They are the first ones I turn to when I need prayers said on my behalf, or help. They are the first ones that hear about our major good news before anyone else. I will literally do anything for them when they need it. I always feel over protective of them, especially with my younger brother Yann. I love them and think of them and keep them in my prayers DAILY. Being away from them is really really hard on me. I can turn to them so easily when I feel down and especially turn to my sister. Ask Marc and he will tell you that my sister is my soul mate. When we are together, all we do is laugh, too loud sometimes but always genuinely. We enjoy teasing each other but never harshly.

My older brother is a fire fighter. He has a heart of gold made of kindness and genuine care for each one of us. He is a clown, not the scary kind. The kind that makes your gut hurt because you laughed too much. He is really business savvy! And can grow anything with his green thumbs. While he is built like any big Polynesian man, my brother is not the kind of person that looks for fights BUT if you provoke him he can slap you to sleep, lol. Not kidding! Only a year and a month separates the too of us in age but we are bond by love and mutual respect. He has helped Marc and I through our tough times in Tahiti and I will forever be grateful to him. I love spoiling his children when I can because I love them but mostly because I love their dad even more.

My sister is a force to be reckoned with. She is frank and I love love that about her. She is generous! She is kind! She is really talented! She bakes like a French baker, does photography like a professional photographer, and drives like a race car driver, haha. She is the kind of person who when she likes something, she goes for it or tries it and usually excels at it. Like my older brother, she is business savvy but she took it to a higher level than the rest of us.  She owned her title of being a business women for all that she has accomplished. She knows all of my secrets! She knows me almost better than Marc does. We are twins born two years apart. We ALWAYS sense when something is wrong with one another. Not even kidding. Our bond is of a special nature. When I ache she aches. When I'm sick, she's sick. Still not kidding! We always laugh about it but are grateful for it because we can be there for each other, always. I love her! She is my world! My BEST FRIEND!

My younger brother is my baby! He is the reason I love children so much. I loved taking care of him, reading to him, and teaching him how to speak. He is by far the smartest one of us and speaks Tahitian better than the rest of us, haha. He is the definition of sacrifice for all that he is doing for our mother. He is really learned! I don't know anyone that love our mom as much as he does, not even me and I love my mom dearly. When I left Tahiti, he went through some major life changing moments and overcame some difficult trials but HE made it. His strength of overcoming what many are struggling with has been exemplary to me. He holds a special place in my heart. I named my son after him for that reason. I was so happy when he came to stay with us for four months. His heart is as big as a mountain. He is the sweetest man I know even if he LOVES to tease me!!! I definitely love my baby brother.

My sister and brother in law. I cannot write this post without mentioning them because they are important to me. I call both of them my siblings because that's what they are to me. Not just someone we added to our mix but truly a brother and a sister. Their opinions, their well being, their needs are all important to me. I love them both equally! I will seat with them and listen to their frustrations. I will walk with them, always hand in hands when they will need me too. They bring happiness to my siblings and for that alone, they get all of my respect. My sister in law made me an aunt and a god mother to her son, my nephew and made my brother a happy dad, and for that I love her. My brother in law loves my sister and supports her in her accomplishments and failures and for that I love him. They both brought uniqueness to our wackiness, and it is just what we needed to be complete for now until my baby brother gains his soul mate.

I am a better person just having them as my siblings! I am so glad that my parents always reminded us how important it was to take care of the relationship we had growing up. How important it was for us to nurture it! I tell my boys every time they fight how important it is for them to love, and care for each other. Truly care! Deeply care!

Marc always tells me that his siblings and him don't have that bond and it is so sad to hear that. They say friends come and go in ones life but family, they are forever. I cannot wait for mine to be forever. One day, I know it will be.

Is it worth it?

Really, is it worth it for me to keep a blog when I scarcely write posts to publish? I find myself asking that question often. I like writing, and being able to talk about my family. The things we do, the way the boys are growing, how we are doing as a couple or how I am doing as a person. Today, I was pondering about what to do about my blog. Is it worth it to have one?

I have so many things going through my mind, on the daily basis, but never seem to find the time or even words, to express myself in a way that the people, who actually read me, would understand. I have so many things to say. Mostly to myself, to my children, to my husband, and my family. I have so many things I want to share with people about us, about life, about everything that seem important to me or us but probably irrelevant to others. Is it worth it? Is it really?

As I thought about it all day, and pondered what this blog actually brings to me, I can only conclude that it is. Not for others but definitely for me and my family. I haven't been really good at keeping a journal for the last four years, so this, has definitely been a blessing. It's been a great way to keep track of events that have taken place in our lives. A great way to keep our family's history of trials, failures and mostly good and fun, "alive". Yes, of course it is worth it!

Some months I would probably be posting constantly and others scarcely but as long as I do it, it would always be better than not doing it right? I should really make an effort though. Write about things that matters to us even if it seems mundane. The most important readers of these published excerpts of the life we live, with the people we love, would be our children, our family. We would be giving them, a pass to memories they have forgotten, or never remembered having lived. Insight of how I felt or even they felt about a trial, an accomplishment. It definitely is worth it!

I am not advertising paint colors, or amazing crafts products for you to try (although I might, if I really like something). I am merely here to share with you a little bit of us, hopefully not too much of it.

So many things have happened since I was last, here.... I may or may not write about it tomorrow.

First week of school!

The boys' first week of preschool was a success. No tears, no accidents, just fun times playing, learning new songs, and getting used to the teachers.

Starting new routines like getting the boys to bed earlier, packing their lunch bags, waking up earlier making breakfast and getting them dressed were easier than I thought it would be... so far.

I enjoyed the five hours I got to spend with each of my boys alone this week.

Yann's first day seemed to have taken longer than two and a half hours. I caught myself wondering whether or not he was having a good day. I dropped him at eight thirty like I was supposed to, talked to the teacher  a bit, and put away the school supplies we were asked to provide for each one them. He said bye and just walked away without even bothering looking back or waving. It made me a bit sad but knowing that he was ready to be at school, wiped the sadness away.

Marc and I went for a drive and did some shopping then headed home. We had FUN together just playing, reading, laughing, cuddling, and watching an episode of a show on Netflix. Time came to pick up Yann, so we got ready and did just that. Yann was happy to see us, and told us all about the fun he had, and the things he did. However, just looking at him, I could see that he wasn't his own self. I asked him if he was feeling okay, and he said he was just tired from all the fun. Once we got home, he went directly on my bed and had a nap. He had a fever, and couldn't hold anything down. While he had a good first day of pre-K, the rest of the afternoon, he just slept. Poor thing!

Tuesday morning came, Marc was excited! He knew it was his first day of school. He didn't start until twelve thirty so Yann and him had time to play. Marc's reaction to finally staying at school instead of just dropping his big brother was different. He was smiling form ears to ears, and couldn't contain his excitement. He wave us goodbye and took off.

Yann and I had a great time together as well. We came home, had a late breakfast, went for a walk, did some shopping, played, read books, cuddled and watch an episode of a new tv show on Netflix. Then of course, we picked Marc up when it was time. Marc had a lot to tell us. He was so happy to see us that he hugged Yann and gave us kisses not caring about all the parents looking, smiling at him.

Their second day of school were about the same. Fun, happy, exciting, etc...

I had to make "mailboxes" for both of them to leave in the school, so I got my card stocks, and craft supplies out so I could get them done and delivered to the teacher this week.

I love them being at school! I am glad they're both in pre-K this year. My favorite thing about it all is the amount of time, they both kept asking me when we were picking the other brother. They missed each other a lot. They were so happy to see each other at the end of school.

With parent preschool program (PPP),  karate class, and my celpip class, we have something to do everyday except Thursday. 

All is done!

We saw our lawyer today to finalize the sale of our house. We signed a few papers and reviewed the financial aspect of it. We walked in his office at 8:20 am and left at 8:32 am. It went fast! It took more time printing our ID's than it did actually talking to our lawyer.

We left his office with bigger grins on our faces and great relief to know that there is no going back now. The deal is sealed! We were quite surprised to learn that we would make even more money than what we initially thought we would. I could have danced on the sidewalks!

We're happy all is done now! This is probably the last post I write about this.

Pre-school!!!

Next Monday my big boy starts pre-school! And the day after, it would be my little M's turn.

Seriously, where did time go?!

I am happy for them! Marc and I truly think that they are ready for it. If we didn't, they wouldn't be going.

Karate-do Shotokai!

Yann started his first class of kds karate yesterday. We were all quite excited! He did so great, it got me patting my own back for submitting his registration form in.  I ordered his uniform (gi) through his club, Taber Martial Arts Academy, and cannot wait to see him in.

I grew up in the world of boxing and kickboxing, etc (martial arts). I was in heaven yesterday watching my son and reviewing with him the things he learned. Marc wanted to go and be with the other kids. I cannot wait to register him for next year.

The kiddos are growing! I want them to do some extra curricular activities but just a couple of them each or even just one that they really like. I want it to be fun for them, not just enrolled them in sports because it looks cool. I am not willing to bully them into something they do not want to do. We asked Yann about karate and he said yes so karate he is doing. They both want to do soccer too, so I have to remember to register them next year, remember being the key word here since I forgot to do it last year.

It's so much fun to see your kids growing!

Did you make anything?

Here's that other question people have kept asking us since last month. Did you make money on the sale of our house? How much money have you lost? Etc, etc... Well here's my response to you: "NONE of your friggin business!!!" HAHA, just kidding! I thought it sounded fun to say it that way. But honestly, it's none of your business.

We didn't make the amount of money we thought we would when we first listed our house but we STILL made money. Recuperating every penny we invested in our home and more. We would be grinning when we see our bank account. The end for this post.

How we did it!

As I mentioned it previously in this post, we have often been asked how we were managing having to pay a mortgage and rent and all the bills related to our house on top of groceries, gas, car maintenance, etc....

When we first moved to Taber, we were fortunate enough not to have to pay rent in the farm house, just the utility bills attached to it with the water that was delivered in every couple months. For eight months we did this, and in July of last year, we decided to move to an apartment right in town where we only had to pay rent.

After Marc was offered the job in Taber, we reviewed our finances, crunched a few numbers before ever deciding whether or not we would accept it. We wanted to be sure that we had at least two years worth of saving that would help cover paying all the bills mentioned above in the event we didn't sell our house right away. And how happy we are to have done that. Marc and I budget everything! Every penny we spend is recorded manually in what we call our budget book (B.B) and we have done this for many years now. Don't get me wrong, I don't think we are the best at budgeting but the peace of mind it bring us is worth all the troubles.

A few years ago, we heard one of President Gordon B. Hinckley's talk about debts. He counselled members to live within their means, to be self reliant, to discipline themselves in their spending and purchases, to avoid debts and/or pay them off as quickly as they can if they have them.  We heard him loud and clear and have strived ever since to live that way. There would always be something that would require you to spend your hard earn money, right? Being wise with your finances is a great stress relief.

We live our lives quite modestly and love it that way. We tell ourselves, sometimes, it would be nice to have this or that but when we seriously ponder about it, we just smile knowing that this or that is not necessary to live a good life. We spoil ourselves with the things we need and not necessarily with the things we want. But we are happy and hope to continue to live happily that way. We do splurge here and there but never excessively. So here you go. That's how we did it! It wasn't without worries. Seeing our saving account deplete was not a fun thing to see but Heavenly Father carried us through it all, and continued to bless us.

Turning the page!

On June 28, 2007, Marc and I moved into our new house in LLoydminster! It was a happy day for us! We made so many memories in, worked so hard fixing it, had many fun times with family and friends, and brought our sons from the hospital to this home of ours.

After over a year and a half of trying to sell it, the house finally sold. It was a happy day for us as well!

We are finally closing this chapter of our lives. While we danced our happy dance after hearing the house sold, and jumped over the moon because of the excitement and relief we felt, we wouldn't do anything any different. This trial has confirmed to us that we are living the way we should be. I will explain this later in another post.

It was sad to see it all empty, with no trace of us having ever lived in. We slept in our house all the days we were there, and enjoyed our last breakfasts and lunch there before turning the keys in and saying goodbye to our beautiful home. We were happy to leave behind an empty canvas for this new family to paint memories in, that will last them a lifetime, like it did for us.

The Fyfes came to help us with a trailer to finalize the move. We were once again grateful for their friendship and their help with this. Our friends in Lloyd lent us their muscles to load the trailer, and their homes to seat, eat and relax. It felt great to know we had these great friends. We've missed each one of them so much.

It's my home away from home that we sold! It was my happy place, an anchor for me who came to live in this country. It wasn't just a shelter, it was a safe haven where I planted my roots as a permanent resident.

When we moved to Taber and having had to pay a mortgage and rent at the same time with all the bills related to our home, people would often ask us how we did it. And as soon as people heard that we we have sealed the deal, one question seemed to always come up. Did you make any money?
People are so curious to know things that do not concern them HAHA.

Back on track!

When my friends came, it was hard to keep a balance diet. I have lost twenty two pounds all together  before they arrived which, I was happy with but, with our busy schedule and the amount of time I indulged eating treats, I ended up gaining two pounds which, of course, I was disappointed about.

However, now that they are gone, I am able to be more diligent and eat better balanced meals. Just with tweaking/watch what I eat, I lost the two pounds I have gained and am starting my regular workout again.

I really want to succeed with this weight lost thing so here I am again. I hope I can do better this time.

Tom Baker Appointment!

An old one but I like it. I don't post a lot of
picture of me so here's 2 for now.

August eight marked my six months (well a bit over) appointment since I was diagnosed with cancer.

I was to see the oncologist at twelve forty five at the Tom Baker Cancer Center (T.B.C.C), so we left Taber in decent time to get there.

I had to do an x-ray in July to check my lungs before the appointment in Calgary so I made sure that I did it.

Once at the center, I had to check in at the front desk. I received my cancer patient card to use every time I'll be going to the center. I have to say, I felt really sad receiving such a card. As if getting to such a place wasn't bad enough.  Keeping the card in my wallet will remind me that I am a C- patient every time I see it.  All those feeling I had when I first heard my doctor tell me months ago I had cancer came back all at once. Walking down the hallways of the hospital felt overwhelming. I was trying hard not to cry.

Before getting in to see the doctor, I had to do another x-ray for my lungs. After a long wait, we finally got to see Dr Mack. He told me the results of both x-rays looked good. What a relief!
He look at my scars and touched to feel any bumps or lumps. He felt a bump, the same one I have been feeling in my thigh for the past couple months, so I am to monitor this as often as I can. He thinks it is just scar tissues from when they closed the wound together. Since there were no trace of metastases in my lungs, I shouldn't be too worried. Of course, I monitor this thing often. It doesn't seem to grow so that's a good sign.

I am still grateful for my blessing with this journey. I am blessed for not having had chemo and radiations and hope it continues that way.
I had a discussion with my sister a couple days ago about life and the trials we face while we are here. I am grateful for my life and the cards I was dealt! It shapes the way I do things and see things. Every cards dealt was a lesson learned and definitely a character building experience. Life is beautiful! I love mine!

Here's a quote from Randy Pausch I like: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." My faith is my strength and how I deal with my trials. Life is so good!

Fun times and friendship!

The past couple weeks were quite exciting, busy, fun and tiring all at once. With my friends visiting from our island home, we spent a lot of time driving, eating, visiting, shopping, cooking, and laughing until our eyes and guts hurt. A lot of late night were had, and a lot of indulging in treats as well.

I met Gaelle, our first day in high school, and we have been friends ever since. She came with one of her co-worker and her son which I was happy to meet and get to know during their stay here. I got to chauffeur them around, cook for them, and discover new places at the same time than them.

Gaelle!

 After a first relaxing day, I decided to take them to Waterton on their second day here. We briefly stopped in Cardston hoping to grab some things at the distribution center but it was closed. We had so much fun in Wateron, admiring the always stunning place that it is. We had such a great time, we didn't make it back to Taber until eight thirty at night.

Gaelle!

Mere!

Jude!

The Musketeers!

The next day (Friday), we went to the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge. It was my first time there too so I was equally excited as my friends. I am glad I read about this place before we even went to visit it. I loved it there! It was so quiet, so peaceful. The place was beautiful, so authentic. My friend's knowledge of the Japanese culture was refreshing, and instructive. She amazed me even more. She surprised the workers there with all that she knew about Japan and its culture. I was impressed! I would recommend not taking kids there if you want the full experience of the beautiful serenity of the place. After our visit was done, we went for a picnic at Henderson Park so the boys could have some fun kids time.

Gaelle is a master of taking sefies!

Superboy/pirate and his sidekick!

The boys and tatie Gaelle!

We followed this turtle in Henderson park.

Jude and Yann!

My handsome boys!

Mother & Son!

On Saturday, I decided to make the day about the boys. We packed our cooler and off we went to the Henderson swimming pool. The boys were in heaven and so were we. It was relaxing, beautifully sunny, and the driving portion of the day was really short. It was another great day! We went home feeling a bit tired but what great tans we got, as if we needed to get browner :).
 Sunday morning,  I picked up my friends at their hotel, we had breakfast at our place then we dropped Mere and Jude back to their temporary home. Gaelle, my family and I rested a bit before heading out to Church. Sunday was, of course, a low key day which was quite welcomed. With late nights, not much sleep, and parading here and there, we were all happy to have such a treat. Once home, Marc finished up making supper while I visited with my friends and uncle D and aunt Celia. D got to practice his Tahitian while I helped my sweetheart with dinner.

Monday, we all got up early, had breakfast, and headed to Calgary for my appointment at the Tom Baker Cancer Center. I will write a post about it later. It was so good to have friends with us. They looked after the kids so Marc and I could talk to the doctor without kids interrupting. Once that was done, we grabbed some lunch and off we went to Edmonton. On our way there, all happy, and smiling, we had to pull over the road because we had a flat tire. Now that was fun! After Marc put on the spare tire, we went to the Costco by the CrossIron Mills mall, and got the van in the shop to get two brand new tires on the back of the vehicle. Meanwhile, my friends and I decided to do some shopping in Costco. Once the tires fixed, we continued on and made a quick stop in West Edmonton Mall for supper, before checking in in the hotel. We put on our bathing suits and went for a quick swim. By eleven thirty, a few of us were getting hungry so we went to Denny's to grab some food. I was so tired yet so happy that I didn't sleep until a few hours after leaving our friends room.
 Tuesday! Well, it was shopping day for our friends, mostly! They shopped like pros! By the end of the day, they all had a brand new Samsung tablet in their hands. HAHA. Gaelle bought a lot of things for her nieces back home. How spoiled they are going to be when she goes back to Tahiti. The drive back to Taber through Calgary was mostly entertaining! I was so glad my sweet high school friend was here. We had so much catching up to do. Our friendship was definitely strengthened! I am so grateful for my friends. The new ones I made in this Country and the old ones I made back in my island.

Wednesday, we stayed home! We all needed a break from seating in the van, and walking here and there. What a beautiful day it was as well! We literally did nothing beside laughing, talking, eating, and watch a couple movies. We didn't do anything productive at all, and you know what? That felt so great!!!!!

Thursday, we went to the Hat! Since it was my birthday, I couldn't think of a better place to take my friend than my favorite place in Canada, the butterfly house! We all loved it! I LOVED IT!!!It was as beautiful as my first time there. We stayed for a couple hours then went back home. We waited for Marc to get home then we celebrated my thirty seventh birthday. Marc even found time to make me a cake while he was on his lunch break. How I love him! Dinner was great! The cake was great! The company even greater! What else could I ask for!

Butterfly food!

The green caterpillar I photographed a month ago
became a beautiful Atlas Moth. She was as big as my hand.

A beautiful hibiscus!

I really liked that bird! He was free to fly anywhere.
His cage was open but he stayed perch on his branch.

Curly!

It was too humid inside for my big boy!

Friday, was a not so busy day! We went to Lethbridge! Stopped at Best Buy then Oliver Health Foods and Oliver Book store to get something my dear friend has been looking for since she arrived. From there, we made a quick stop to Superstore and went back to Taber. My newly made friend, Mere, made dinner that night and it was delicious. A dish from home that I love! I was so grateful for her, and the time she took to make supper.

Saturday was definitely a relaxing day for all of us.However, that morning was quite eventful and a bit stressful for the girls. Somehow their credit cards refused to work, so we were all kind of wondering what was going on. With a customer of the hotel, and the lady that was at the front desk, we tried to figure out why it wasn't working. I was on my way out the door to grab our credit card at home when suddenly, the employee called me to tell me she found a solution to our troubles. We were all jumping, and hugging each other after all was done. We ate breakfast, visited, went for walks, spent some time at the M.D park, and checked out a couple stores before just hanging out in the apartment. We laughed, visited, ate, put our feet up, napped, watched a couple movies, ate some more. Laughed some more. I was sad that our fun was coming to an end. We did our night routines with the boys, then put them to bed. Marc joined them after I got mattresses ready for my friends so they could try to catch some sleeps but neither they or I could, so we just watched Netflix. Eleven thirty came around, we jumped in the van and drove to YYC. When time came for them to go, we said our goodbyes, hugged and my friend and I embraced each other and cried for we were not only sad but also truly happy to have had that time to be together again.

Most morning I cooked a big breakfast for all of us. Every morning I picked them up at their hotel and dropped them there every night. I miss that! I miss them! I miss all the fun time we had, and the good laugh! I miss Gaelle washing the dishes, HAHA. I cannot wait for more visitors to come from Tahiti so I can show them this beautiful country. Nurturing friendships is so important. I loved the time we had!