Movember

November is Movember - a month to raise awareness and support for prostate cancer. This is not new, but was new for our household this year. Depak participated in Movember with his work, and was able to raise some money for a good cause. Gotta love the stash...

Not quite the smile I fell in love with...

Oh Christmas Tree

A family tradition is putting up the tree together. Nat was so excited she wanted to put the star on first, but we got her to wait until the end. I'm usually the one to fuss over how the tree looks, but Chelsea was the one to make sure the tree looked great this year. No new decorations, no personal touches, just a simply green and gold tree. We'll have to make it a Parmar tree next year with a few hand made ornaments, but this year we can enjoy the simply beauty.

And Nat got to help daddy put up the star too.

Another birthday at the Parmar household

Daddy's birthday is the last of our fall birthdays. Unfortunately Depak had to work on his b-day (a Saturday). We were still able to have some special family time, and some amazing chocolate cake (dairy free too)!

We got daddy a present, all be it one that he picked out, but a present none the less! It was a very sharp looking wool jacket. Its not easy buying Depak a present for a couple of reasons... he doesn't usually want much, and what he does want has to actualy fit him... so, he picked out a jacket this year. It looks great on him!

I am also getting more and more successful with the dairy free deserts... which is good and bad. They taste great, but we don't need that many sweet treats. It is good that I am able to make something that daddy likes and that he can eat too!

Hope you had a special day honey, love all your girls!

November snow

A novelty around here... a November snow fall.  The snow didn't last very long, but we enjoyed it for a moment.  Nat helped me shovel the driveway... daddy bought her a snow shovel for just such an occassion.

It's catch up time... again!

I love being able to record our life in this format... but some times I get behind.  Life, as busy as it can be, is worth recording, so here's a catch up post (or more).

One thing I've wanted to blog for a while is the life I now live as a full-time "home" mom.  I have been truely enjoying my time on mat leave, and am very thankful for this time at home with the little girls.  I get to see as much of Chelsea as before, as I always picked her up after school while I was working, but I get to spend my days with the little ones, and am having a blast (at least most of the time).  Sure, it is exhausting, and some days I desire adult conversation and don't really want to play play dough, but all in all, we're having a good time!

Natalie still desires to be the center of attention.  I guess that's what you get when you're center of life for 2 1/2 years... you just want it to continue.  She is not so much of an attention seeker; she just wants me to be playing with her rather than playing by herself.  She's not too bothered by Anna, and is just starting to pay attention to the baby in the house.  When Anna was small, Nat just ignored her.  Now that Anna is playing and making noises, Nat is starting to notice her and interact with her.

Anna is a pleasant child. She is our chubby little girl who eats and sleeps, and now plays too! She does not like to be by herself either, she wants to be where the action is. If you give her a toy and walk away, she's not very interested... if you give her a toy and she can see you (at your level), then she's happy for a while. We've had to pull up the high chair just so that she can sit where she can see us in the kitchen. The floor just isn't fun anymore. She also loves the jumper, but only if you're near so that she can smile and make faces with you.

Both girls ADORE their big sister. Its so neat to see Nat's bond with Chelsea, and even more neat to see Anna follow suit. As soon as Chelsea walks in the room, both girls are enamoured with her. Nat can be fussy all day, and then when Chelsea gets home, Nat will be content to follow her around, sit in her bedroom to listen to didi's music.

Aaaahhhhh... its been a good fall for me.

Retreat!!!

Our church has put together a ladies retreat every other year for several years now, and I've attended the last three retreats.  They've been held at this amazing little retreat centre in Northern Washington, which is an amazing setting to truely marvel at God's creation, either rain or shine.  The group of ladies changes each retreat, and I love being able to get to know ladies I don't chat with every Sunday.  Its a small weekend away, but an amazing refresher from the everyday life. 

The focus of the retreat was loving well, as seen in 1 John 4:7-21.  So often I try to fulfill my desire to be loved from others, but the retreat brought be back to the truth: that God IS love and he is all I need to be loved.  It is too easy to just look to the physical world for our desires, as it is in front of our faces, but the physical realm always lets us down.  If I allow God to fulfill my hearts desire for love, and drawing on his love and strength, I can love others in my life.  Those that are easy to love; those that are a challenge to love; those I do not love (I have a hard time using the word hate, as we are called not to hate); and those that are not a part of my life, the strangers I am called to love.

Jesus said in John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." This is a longing in my life, and I trust that God will continue to do a good work in me.

"The best birthday party ever"

According to Natalie, it was "the best birthday party ever"!  Its wonderful to see how life to a 3 year-old is so AMAZING!  Nat had her 3rd birthday last week, and we had a few family over for dinner, cake and gifts.  She was showered with love, and some very cool toys, what a lucky girl.

Nat has a love for care bears.  A long while back she asked for a care bears brithday cake.  So, I set off to figure out how to do this.  I found a cake pan on craigs list (complete with instructions) and made my first drop icing cake.  It was a lot harder than I anticipated, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun.  Nat helped make the cake, and discovered that licking the beaters is the best part.  Now Chelsea will have to share that honor.  This cake is love-a-lot bear, just like her care bear (which in fact was Chelsea's from long ago).

Nat also discovered that we had a small #3 cake pan, so she wanted that kind of cake too.  It was small and easy, and Chelsea did the honors of decorating it for her.  Although she wants candles on her cake, she's still a little afraid of the flame and did not want to blow it out.