Awaiting Spring...

So, it has been awhile since I have taken the time to write on my blog and I really don't have a good reason other than I didn't think I had much to say.  The last couple of months have been good... nothing to crazy... but good.  

We finally unpacked our very last box last month.  Now to some this might not be that big of a deal, but for us, it is!  We have moved 11 times in 8 years and I have never had EVERY single box unpacked.  Well ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that there are absolutely no cardboard boxes anywhere in this house!  YIPPEE!!! Needless to say, we are finally feeling settled and at home.  It's fabulous!  Now on to decorating ; )

What else has happened... well, I finally went to the City and applied for my business license and received that in the mail this past week.  Very exciting... Now if only I could get some business.  Time to start thinking about advertising or something.  I have been working on the website and it is almost complete.   I just have to add a few pictures and all will be good.  I will keep you posted as to when it is up and running.  In the mean time, jot down this web address: www.melissamastersdesigns.ca.  That will be my website.  Oh and please, pass on my information to EVERYONE : )

February was a pretty quiet month.  Chloe had a week off from school, but the weather wasn't that great so we mostly stayed indoors.  I think we are all starting to get a little bit of cabin fever!  

Oh, I know something exciting that happened this past week... Chloe got an early birthday present!  His name is Rez and he is adorable.  Yes, we got her a puppy... but not just any puppy, a lovely rescue puppy.  He has had such an ordeal so far in his life.  Here is his story.  A young girl from Water Valley was driving on the Highway by Hobbema and saw 4 young pups on the side of the highway.  Someone had just left them there!  How awful!  Unfortunately, one of the pups didn't make it, but the other 3 have found great homes... one of them being ours : ).  We couldn't ask for a better second dog.  As for his breed, well he is definitely a mutt.  There is some speculation that he is part Rottie and part Heeler.  We think he has some Bernese Mountain in him.  It doesn't really matter, he is gorgeous!  And so well behaved! Here he is:

Now what about Noah... well, he is growing like crazy!  He is already 28 1/2 inches long and 21 pounds.  He is literally off the charts!  And he is adorable.  He babbles a lot and has finally had his 2 bottom teeth poke through.  Very cute but very sharp.  

And now we are just waiting for all the snow to go away so we can enjoy some lovely spring weather!  Hopefully this will happen sooner rather than later!

Bye for now

Family... what defines it?

Webster's defines it as "a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head."  I think that this is the traditional definition of family, but I think that word encompasses so much more.  I bring this up because Christmas has come and gone yet again and it causes me to reflect on family and what that means to me.  

Obviously my husband and children are most definitely my family as well as my parents, in-laws, and extended families, but I think our family is so much bigger than that.  For me our family also includes are very select group of our closest friends.  These are the people that we know we can turn to when we need a shoulder to cry on, a last minute babysitter, or someone that we are completely comfortable to just have dinner with.  Sometimes I think that our friends are closer to family than our blood relatives are.  Your true friends don't judge you or hold childish grudges or expect you to be something you are not.  They accept you for you and love you no matter what.

So, to all of our "family" out there, we love you and cherish our times together! 

Goodbye November, Hello December

It's been awhile since I took the time to write on here, so I figured I should take some time and do an update.  I can hardly believe that November is over, where in the world did this month go?  I had such high ambitions of things I wanted to accomplish this month, but unfortunately lack of sleep and energy has won yet again.  I was hoping to be done my Christmas shopping by now, but that has not been completed.  Although I do know what I am getting everyone, so that helps.  I should be able to finish next week. :)  

What else has happened since the last time I wrote, not much.  Chloe is loving kindergarten and got her first report card.  She is doing excellent and her teachers are very impressed with her.  I had a "proud as a peacock" moment during out Parent Teacher Interviews.  Her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Collier, said to Jay and I that she doesn't know what we are doing, but we are excellent parents and our daughter is a wonderful girl!  I was so happy to know that someone thinks we are succeeding as parents.  Isn't that always our biggest concern, to succeed at this crazy job we have been given.  I mean some days it can be so overwhelming to think that we are responsible to raise a child.  We are responsible for their futures and the future of their world! What a crazy thing!  So, needless to say I was so overjoyed that we are doing a good job!  

Noah is growing like crazy... he is such a big boy.  I just wish that he would sleep at night better!  We were so spoiled with Chloe when she slept through the night at 2 months... Noah doesn't like to sleep more than 4 or so hours at a time.  It's exhausting!  I guess our only saving grace is that he is such a happy baby!  He has his moments of inconsolable fussiness, but for the most part, he is always smiling.  I forgot how much I love that goofy toothless grin.  It's adorable.  I am looking forward to his next checkup on the 16th to see how much he has actually grown. 

Jay is still enjoying working from home... and I am still able to tolerate it! LOL. No, it's great having him home.  It definitely makes life easier on the days that I don't get any sleep at night and he can take Chloe to school for me.  

We finally have started to decorate our bedroom.  I figured after 6 1/2 years of marriage, it was about time we decorated our space!  It's slowly coming together, but we have discovered it is even more difficult to do renos and decorating with 2 children!  Everything takes twice as long.  I will post some pictures once it is actually completed.  Oh and I should post some pics of the kids rooms too... soon... 

Well, I think that updates everything for now.... 

Enjoy your December and remember that Christmas isn't all about getting gifts.  It's about giving to others and spending quality time with family and friends!  And of course celebrating the birth of Jesus!!

Love you all,

The Masters

Another year has past...

So, I turned 27 yesterday and it made me think... am I any wiser just because I am a year older?  Honestly, I don't know.  A lot has happened this year, both good and bad.  Have I made the best decisions that I could?  

As I enter into my late 20's and see the horizon of my 30's ahead, I have to ask myself, have I accomplished all that I wanted to accomplish?  I honestly believe that I have.  I have a fantastic and loving husband.  I have 2 wonderful, adorable children.  I have a great house that I can make into a home.  I have discovered what my passion is and what I want to do for my career.  These are all the things that I wanted to do before I hit the big 3-0.  So, now I wonder, what do I do for the next 3 years?  

Let's be honest, the kids will keep me insanely busy, but everyone that knows me, knows that I have to be "doing" something.  I have to have a project, a hobby, a goal.  So, now I am left wondering what that will be.  One thing for sure is that I will be focusing a lot of my time on starting my Interior Design business.  Beyond that, I don't know, but what I do know is that I am sure that the next 3 years will bring lots of excitement and I am looking forward to seeing what happens :)

A Tribute to a Wonderful Woman

If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, 

I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again.

Grandma, I love you and miss you.

And so it begins!

So, I thought that it was about time I start a family blog.  The plan for this blog is to let family and friends know what is happening around the Master's household!  Some days it will be pretty mundane, but sometimes, it might be pretty exciting ;)  Of course I will post family photos, mostly of the kids, because let's face it... that's what most of you will want to see!  

I guess I should bring everyone up to speed on our last couple of months.  After many years of trying to move back to Red Deer, we finally did it!  Jay was able to convince his boss at Telus that he can do his job more successfully from home and they agreed! So, step one was complete, Jay had a job in Red Deer.  Next we had to sell the house in Airdrie... gotta love real estate.  Things have slowed down immensely in the last year, which is great for the buyer, BAD for the seller.  But we did end up selling our house in a week, which was FANTASTIC!  However, we did not sell it for nearly what we wanted, but live and learn, right?  So, now the house is sold and we get the fun adventure of finding a new house in Red Deer!  

We have never had such a hard time finding the "perfect" house!  I swear we looked at over 40 houses in a month period!  Luckily we had the most patient and understand realtor!  He was great.  The ironic part is, we ending up buying a house that we saw in our first week.  We could have saved a lot of time, if I had just listened to my gut... but you know, you want to see what else is out there.  So, we bought a great bungalow in Clearview that we love.  It has a bay window, which I have always wanted, and loads of storage space, which we NEED!  I have enough Christmas stuff to decorate 2 houses!  I think it might be time to get rid of some of it.. we'll see.  

The funny thing is that when we set out looking at houses, we wanted something that we could update, but that we wouldn't have to do it right away.  Well, we have been here 3 months and we are already itching to demo!  Some things will never change.  LOL.

We moved into our new house at the end of June and I was 8 months pregnant!  FUN!  Did I mention that it was 30+ degrees the first week we were here?  Needless to say, unpacking was not a quick thing.  

Then in July my wonderful Grandma Murray became very ill and sadly on August 1st, she passed away.  This was an excruciating time for me and my family.  It was also very hard on me and my pregnancy.  My normally very low blood pressure, shot through the roof, so much so, I was put on bed rest.  I will write more about my Grandma in a later post.

On August 14th, our beautiful baby boy, Noah Robert Charles Masters, made his world debut!  We were so happy to finally meet him!  It was a long and somewhat difficult pregnancy, but the end result is SOOOO worth it!

But, we had lots to do before the end of the summer... we had to get Chloe ready for Kindergarten!  It amazes me how quickly she has grown up!

Well, I guess that sums up our summer... more to come soon!