While you wait for "after the mess pictures"...

In my last post I shared pictures of the house as I began to decorate for Christmas...I know you will be waiting to see the finished project...but since I work full time, it may take a while for that to happen.  In the meantime I think you will enjoy some pictures from my recent trip to Great Falls Montana!

A group of us ladies went shopping for Black Friday Deals!!!  I think there were about 12 of us, we all piled into vehicles and hit the road on Thursday, the American Thanksgiving.  It is a 6 hr drive, and I think well worth it just for the views.  We didn't have much of a line at the border crossing at all, which was nice. 

We stayed at a nice hotel in Great Falls and found a Perkins to eat at for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It wasn't really that great, but it was OPEN, which when you are tired and hungry, that is fabulous!!

We picked up some newspapers and plotted out the shopping strategy.  I had gone on-line weeks before and sized up the deals I was interested in....JCPenney, look out!!!

We decided to hit the malls at 5:00 a.m., which if  you know anything about Black Friday shopping, that isn't very early at all.  Some people start the night before, standing in lines, sleeping in the cold...waiting to be that first few to get Big screen Tv's for next to nothing...nahhh, thats not my thing.  I wanted sleep and deals...

Seriously, only Elisabeth can look this gorgeous at 5:00a.m.!!

Anyway, we hit the mall and the serious shopping began.

I knew exactly what I wanted, and wasted no time at finding the desired items.

After waiting in line for about 40 minutes, the check out lady took my things, rang them up, bagged them, and like music from an angel said "Your savings today are $145.38"!!!!!!!

But it didn't stop there, oh no....I kept on with focus.  Managed to get everything on my list and for cheaps!!

After shopping all morning, I thought "wow" it's gotta be like 3 or 4 by now...so when we all met up in the food court I was shocked to find out it was only 10:00a.m.!!

We gathered around talking and sharing all the great deals we had got in just a short time of shopping.

Sue and I went back to the hotel to rest and then later went out shopping again.

It was really one of the best weekends I have had in a long time.

Lots of laughs, lots of fun.

Some of the ladies did such serious shopping that they went over the alloted amount of money you can bring back without having to pay GST...but honestly, it isn't that much to pay, so I will keep that in mind for next year....umm...just don't tell my hubby...ok?

Zane was sooooooooooo good on this trip.  We kinda spoiled the little man...thats ok though, he deserves it.

I can't wait to go again next year.  For our first trip I think we did really well, we learned a few things that will help out for the next trip for sure.  But I had such a good time, and saved so much that I was able to splurge on some things for ME!!!  Shoes, skirts, scarfs, sweaters, and shirts....YEAH!!

Better start $aving for next year!!!

Saturday Happenings

Work all week just so you can have two days off to do whatever you want!  I decided it was time to put up Christmas decorations!!!  Problem is, my house is always a wreck by Saturday morning since I am working full time...baskets of neglected laundry, clean, but waiting to be folded and put away, half emtpy glasses of coffee and water laying here and there, newpapers, school books, dirty socks on the floor, mounds of dishes on the counters, etc...you get the idea, basically a MESS!!

Still, I pushed past practicality and decided to go downstairs, haul up the boxes containing festive items to bring holiday cheer to our home.

I put on Christmas music, brewed some coffee, and began digging through those boxes to find treasures that were waiting to be discovered again...Oh how I love Christmas!!!  I spend most of the morning unwrapping glass bulbs and remembering the years that they represented.  Each ornament carefully picked out by the kids so that they could hang it up on the tree.  Then on to other boxes filled with beads and candles, snowmen and gift bags.  Oh how fun it was....

and then.....somehow in the midst of my glee I realized this had happened...

and this....

SIGH!!!!

I kept on at it all day long, and its amazing to me to have to say, it pretty much still looks like this as I type this morning!  UGG!!!!  I will press on until its done...but for now...this is what I have planned.

Coffee and Country Living!

Till after...

Can't believe it has already been a year.  You were gone much longer, I just didn't know that till after...

Busy...

I have been very neglectful of my posts....

I am working a full time job now...and any extra time is usually spent spleeping, or cleaning or doing something at the church.

The newest thing to keep me over the top busy is the Formal Luncheon for the girls....I would love to post pictures as I go....but then that would spoil the surprise...so you'll just have to be patient till I can put up pictures of the event after it happens...which is November 20th.  Stay tuned....

Hey Rose...I was thinking...

I was talking to my son Ben yesterday about his big brother Joe; about how he has two women in his life.  His Big sister...Sissy...(Amanda) and his Mother....which is me.

I was telling Ben that the woman he decides to marry better be Ok with sharing her man.....since Joe will always have one arm around his sister, and the other around his Mom....

No matter what time changes...we'll always be his girls!

I Heart GNP

This past Friday Hubby & I had a whim to go on one last trip to Glacier National Park before winter takes over.  We rushed home from work, packed up the van, loaded up the canoe and headed down the road towards the good old USA!  Passed through the Roosville Border around midnight...drove on through Eureka, Montana and found a place to pull in for the night down a dirt road.  Some might think sleeping in the back of the van might be uncomfortable...but I can assure you, its warm, safe and dry!!!  Oh, and did I mention...FREE!

 We went for breakfast in Whitefish at this cute little cafe, yummy food and nice atmosphere.

Then on to Apgar campground near Lake McDonald.

We set up camp and then decided to head out on the lake.

What a gorgeous day we had.

The water is so clear and you can see so clearly the rocks and sticks and fish below.

I love taking the canoe out because you can get a perspective on things more closely than just from driving around the mountains in the car.  Being in the canoe allows you to go slower and linger...

 

After a good nights sleep, we got up and made a yummy breakfast!



We cleaned everything up and headed out to enjoy the rest of our day.  We walked around the small little village of Apgar.  There are a few gift shops, and a place to get coffee & ice-cream.  It was really nice to just browse around, talk to people and check out local arts and crafts offered in the gift shops.

I found a table and chair set that would be perfect for a back-yard deck!

Later we took a drive and just enjoyed the area.  It was a really nice day, not to cool even though it got a little cloudy and did drizzle a little.  In the afternoon the sky cleared up a bit and the sun came out.

The Lodge on Lake McDonald had just closed for the season...but we took a walk around the grounds and down to the lakefront.  Very pretty area....

This creek empties into Lake McDonald right in front of the Lodge.  The day we were there a family was getting thier family pictures done.  What a pretty setting for photos!

These pictures DO NOT even come close to showing the beauty of the area.  You have to be able to hear the water rushing down the rocky cliffs and rolling over the huge boulders submerged below the icy water.  Smell the earth, and the cedar & pines....feel the cool air on your skin.  Then you will know why we keep going back over and over again...and why we can't wait to go again next year!

WE HEART GNP!!!!

Come away with me....

Saturday Hubby & I went for a canoe trip on Barrier Lake.  I know these pictures will NOT do it justice...but here they are:

The water was so still at the start of the day; it was like a mirror.  We glided along quietly and it seemed as if the sky continued on forever into a bottomless lake....

When you become a Mom, you will be one for life.

There is no career change when the kids grow up and move out.

They will move on & start thier own lives; but you will still be there waiting for the times when they need you.

Sometimes they don't call, or write, and you feel left out, forgotten and no longer important.

But...once in a while..they do call, and they do need you and you're there...ready to do what Mom's do best.

Listen, encourage, rejoice, suggest, and Love.

We aren't perfect, we make many mistakes, but we do love unconditionally.  We get our hopes up, we dream big for our children, we pour out till empty, we pray, we cry, we worry, we get so much joy out of what they do, and so much sadness when things don't go the way we want for them.  When they are in danger we feel helpless, when they are far away we can't protect them and we lay awake at night praying to God that everything will be allright.

Don't tell us not to...we are Mom's and that's what we do. 

  

Michigan, my Michigan

More to come......

I just wanna thank you Lord...

Recently at church Michelle sang a song and the lyrics said something about being amazed and overwhelmed that God would spend each day with us....that He would want to talk to us, and that WE hold a special place in HIS heart...and I have to say...I am amazed.

When I look at the mountains and the lakes, the green grass, the forest, the flowers and all creation...I am overwhelmed that the God who made all of that, and made me and knows me, would still love me...but get this...He loves me UNCONDITIONALLY....and that means so much to me.  There just isn't anyone else who I can say  does that....and yes, every day in every way...I'm amazed.

Canadian Summer

It has been a really weather challenged summer here.  Spring was a mess...actually, I don't think we really had a Spring in the true sense of the word...it went from Winter to mostly winter..to kinda winter...to July.  Cal & I decided we wanted to float down the Bow River in our canoe this past week, but the weather did not co-operate...it rained, lots...and was cold.  So, instead we decided to go for a walk along side the river.  But it was cold....like 45F...so on a wonderfully cold SUMMER evening we put on our jackets, gloves and hats and took a walk.  Here are some of the pictures:

Cal & Shelly

July 12, 2010

Do you see what I see?

Cal trekking along a swollen Bow River..

Camping Bliss

Cal & I took a "hippie trip" to Montana a few weeks ago and I am just now getting around to posting some pictures.

We turn the van into our little "home" by throwing down a mattress in the back and I put up curtains for privacy and even hang up pictures on the van walls!  LOL  We love it.

We headed to the Carway  crossing Friday night and we made it to the border with 15 minutes to spare before they closed for the night!  We drove into St. Mary, Montana and found a secluded place to park the van to sleep for the night.  When we woke up, this was the view from where we parked!

Now I think I could get used to a view like that!

We decided to go to Kalispell so we could get some provisions at Wal-Mart; which is about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive, but we took our time and did some major sight seeing on the way.  That is one of the nice things about get aways in the van, we are not on anyones time table but our own.

Waterfalls, rivers, sweeping views, mountain peaks...the list goes on of the beauty you can see on the way.

On the way back to St. Mary in the evening we decided to turn down a road we had not gone down before and ended up at Two Medicine Lake.  It was gorgeous there!!  There is an old lodge there that they have converted into a "store" and gift shop for visitors, but other than that, there is nothing there but beauty.

We stayed here for quite a while and took in the views and then I made us "dinner" which was just plain old turkey sandwiches, but I swear they tasted better as we ate them with the view of the mountains and lake before us!  On the way out of Two Medicine Lake we were driving kinda slow cuz I told Cal I just had this feeling that we might see some wildlife...and sure enough, for the first time in my life I saw a BLACK BEAR in the wild!!!  We were in the van, and the bear was a safe distance off, but in all the excitement I did not manage to get a picture...so you'll just have to imagine a beautiful black bear eating grass in a meadow.

******

We camped at Johnson's Campground that night and the next morning went out to breakfast at a small cafe.  Decided to drive around a bit more and did some hiking.  Just a really great day.

The trip was short, but so worth it.  We plan to go again and again. 

Here are a few more pictures of why we love it there so much.

We just had a really great time on our trip to Montana, and we hope to make many more in the years to come.  It is pure camping BLISS.....