So we had the greatest Jigg's dinner on Tuesday night. After several calls home, I managed to cook the salt beef and vegetables to perfection. (Dad was a wee bit disappointed that I didn't make his stuffing but I have not yet gotten his recipe right.) The turkey was moist and delicious and the company was divine!

 

I went all out and set the table with the china and silver ware, lit the candles and dimmed the lights. The mood was set for overindulgence with great friends (who just happen to be family). We ate and laughed and ate and laughed some more. You just can't get any better than soaking up life in the warm glow of Christmas lights and candles. My bucket is getting past full and moving into over flowing this week!



One of the few pictures of G without a tissue up his nose!



  

Laura and Austin playing wih the cracker prizes

Naturally there were lots of leftovers (we Newfies' never know how to cook for a small crowd. If there isn't enough for 20 then we have failed in our job to be ready for everyone in the neighbourhood to drop by unexpectedly for dinner). This evening I made a favorite Jigg's after dish- Hash. It starts with a generous tbsp of butter in the bottom of a frying pan. When the butter melts and the pan is good and hot you add the left over vegetables and salt beef. If there happens to be any dressing you can throw that in there too. Mash it all together and voila! Hash. Serve with turkey and top with gravy. So very, very good!

Miss you guys...come back soon!

The most wonderful time of the year!

It's oddly quite in our house at the moment. There are no toy Black & Decker drills drilling, no cars crashing, no Santa on a motorcycle singing Born to be Wild. Austin and his daddy are having a nap while I sit here looking at the Christmas tree, listening to Kenny and Dolly. I just put the turkey in the oven and the salt beef is simmering away. Tonight Laura and Dan will be joining us for a visit and we'll sit down to a good ol' Newfie Christmas dinner. I even have the beets (but no mustard pickles). I cannot wait!

It's a very weird experience trying to establish your own traditions when I'm so used to the traditions that I have been entrenched in since I was a little kid. The pace of Christmas is very different here than it is back home. But I have to say that it has been nice. We' ve had a couple of stay in our jammies-watch Toy Story 2-eat Christmas brunch left over days. It's been nice to catch up on life with my boys.

Austin has been hilarious this year. He gets the whole Santa thing. Christmas Eve we made Santa rice krispie treats and when we put them on the table, Austin declared he was hungry and that Santa had to share!

Two cookies down and a phone call from the big man himself and Austin finally went to bed.

I was like an over excited kid Christmas morning. I woke up at 6am, can down to the living room and put cinnamon rolls in the oven, got the coffee/hot beverage station ready and took this picture to prove that Santa really came:

Austin was stirring at 7:30am of course I encouraged him to wake up. Next thing I know he is bouncing on his Dad declaring "Santa brought da pwesents daddy! get up! get up!" So we scurried downstairs where he met  Rudolph and then his new favorite toy....a Santa on a motorcycle just like his Poppy has.

Our house was soon full as G's parents arrived and RyLee, Clay and Oskar got out of bed. The day was hectic, brunch was served and then we all settled in for a nap.

Our adventures continue but right now I have to tidy up my very lived in home and check on my boys. I love Christmas break!

Only two more days!

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

-Mary Oliver

I don’t know about you, but I plan to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of life this holiday season. I will have 10.5 days of at home time with my boys and my ever expanding belly to just enjoy life and each other. Austin has been such a blessing for us and he is so excited for Santa’s visit tomorrow night. He walks around the house in his little bare feet (not sure why, but he hates socks this holiday season) “talking” to Santa on the phone, hangs up and says “Ho, Ho, Ho, Merwy Kissamas!” Gordon and I laugh and smile and just soak up the moment of happy bliss brought to us courtesy of our first born child. This will be our last Christmas as a family of three and I plan on capturing each and every moment…. (my slight photo addiction is the reason we require an external hard drive….Austin is just 2 I have taken over 2000 pictures so far….)

Oh?! You didn’t hear the news? Austin is going to be a big brother! Gordon and I are expecting our second child in June….Telethon weekend of all times! I’ve already been asked if the Foundation could schedule me in for a rover hit…..normally I wouldn’t want to go late but, in this case, fingers are crossed that the only thing I’m doing at the IWK on Telethon weekend is taking cash!

It’s been a tough fall and my positive attitude has taken a bit of a blow, hence why I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like. And I should have been. Blogging feeds my soul. It’s great to share the happiness that we have and to keep our family and friends informed, especially given that our village expands over several provinces and three American states. And while we aren’t able to spend our evenings personally calling each and every one of our family and friends to tell them our life adventures, this blog gives us a place to do that en mass. (Very helpful when your two year old is opening the fridge, taking out a juice box and sneaking the cake balls that were meant to be Christmas gifts into his cheeks as if he was a squirrel getting ready for winter…)

The Christmas lights are up, the tree is decorated and its warm glow is inviting and ready for company to come together to share in the Christmas spirit. The gifts are all wrapped, packages and cards sent and 90% of the baking has been done. I am ready for Christmas and anticipate the memories that we will be making this year.

I didn’t ask for much this year, I don’t really need anything. I have great family and friends, a wonderful husband, an extraordinary little boy and I’m growing another tiny human…life could not get any better than this and I am grateful for all of those blessings (and for the food saver I know is sitting under the tree waiting for me to rip the brightly coloured paper and ribbons away and start vacuum sealing leftover turkey!!!)

Soak up the day and live each day knowing that once that day is past you don’t have the chance to go back and change it. Cherish it, live it, love it!

Merry Christmas!

'tis the season!

We're all running around trying to get things done and rushing to get packages in the mail, baking in the oven and non breakable ornaments on the tree.  Weekend before last we took Austin to see Santa and he was so excited! It gave me a burst of energy and helped the spirit find me. He was upset that he couldn't just walk up and see Santa, but he was a trooper, peered over the "wall" and pointed "Mama, That Santa!!! that Santa!!!!"

Finally it was his turn. He ran up to Santa, stopped short right in front of him and said "Hi Santa. I want an airpane. Fank you." and just stood there. Santa laugh and asked him to have a seat. Austin happily went up with Santa, said "Cheeze" for the lady (hence the picture...but I couldn't get her to retake it...it's just so Austin) and then he and Santa had a conversation. It made me so happy to just watch him. Love, love, LOVE my boy!

Oh Jan! Congrats on your new baby!

My friend Jan had her baby in a rather unsual way! I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else I know expecting a baby!!! (You look amazing by the way!!!)

Baby's birth at gas station surprises parents

Baby Paige Bosch, seen with mom Jan McEachern, gave her parents no time to reach the hospital before her birth. (CBC)Paige Taylor Bosch entered the world Wednesday in an unusual way: she was born at a Halifax gas station.

Mother Jan McEachern, who was at full term of her pregnancy, started the day feeling cramps. She decided to go to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, where she also works, just to be safe.

McEachern and her husband, Kenny Bosch, piled into their Subaru hatchback and got on the road. That's when things sped up.

"About two minutes into the drive, my water broke," McEachern said. "Then another two minutes, her head came out. So he pulled over and called 911."

Bosch pulled into an Esso gas station on Kearny Lake Road to make it easier for the paramedics to find them.

McEachern was sitting in the front seat, and with two child car seats and bags in the back, there was no space to manoeuvre.

As it turns out, there was also no time.

"I could see the baby's head crowning," Bosch said. "I'm talking to the 911 operator, and not 15 seconds later, Paige had jumped out into my arms, and that was it."

McEachern had assumed she'd have plenty of time to make it to the hospital.

"With my first daughter, I pushed for five hours, because she was facing the wrong way," she said. "I had a lot of back pain, and I thought it was going to be the same thing."

Bosch agreed.

"Thought we had hours and hours," he said. "Even when her water broke in the car, we still thought we had plenty of time to make it down here."

Bosch said the ambulance arrived within 10 minutes of his 911 call.

Mom and baby went to the hospital in the ambulance and Bosch followed in the family car as soon as he washed up in the Esso bathroom.

The bewildered couple spent the day telling family and friends about their new bundle of joy.

McEachern had only one piece of advice for pregnant women and their families: "Leave earlier."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/12/02/ns-babys-birth-at-gas-station-surprises-parents.html#ixzz173SZks5p

Rest in Peace- John Delaney Coleman Sr.

The past two days have been emotionally draining. My heart broke to see how it all ended. While we may not have been close over the past decade, that doesn't take away that for 17 years he was a wonderful grandfather, giving when his family needed him and creating so many wonderful memories. He was a business leader in Corner Brook and gave much back to the community. If he had been home, it all would have been done so differently, it would have been done right. As I put my hand on his coffin and laid one rose for each of his grandchildren, my knees went weak, not with regret but from an overwhelming sadness that it all could have been so different and because a person's last moments before being laid to rest with God should have more dignity. There should be a program for Mass with a proper dedication, the coffin should have been level over his grave site, not tipped several degrees to one side. Some how I managed to keep my balance and turned away, thankfully Aunt Helen was right there to catch me. And she held me as I wept. I wept for all of the wonderful memories, I wept for the man who deserved to have more than just the past 12 years of his life honoured, I wept for all that he has missed and for him being buried so far away from his brothers and parents, for being buried so far away from home.

Good bye Pop. Thank you for the good years, thank you for my Dad, Aunts and Uncles. We love you and will miss you.

John Delaney Coleman (February 5, 1934 - November 30, 2010)


It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our dearly beloved Husband and Father, John Delaney Coleman Sr. on Saturday, November 27, 2010 at the age of 76 years at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital surrounded by his loving family.

John was born in Glace Bay, NS on February 5, 1934 and at a very young age he moved to Corner Brook, NL with his family. He spent many memorable years there before moving to Sydney River, NS. John was a member of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sydney River. John had a gentle heart and was willing to give in all his capacity. He was a proud member of the Knights of Columbus, M.M Coady Council 9476 and was a forth degree member of the Knights of Columbus in Corner Brook, NL for numerous years.
John is survived by his wife Coreen, his nine children: Anne Marie (Tony), Paul (Helen), Gerard (Debbie), Barbara (Tony), Helen (Todd), Sheila (Eric), Mary (Arnie), John (Arlene), Christine (Gary), 18 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, his 2 brothers Gerald and Joe and his only sister Helen Nellie, stepdaughter Janine Carroll and 2 step-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Arthur and Margaret, three brothers, Edward, Eugene and Harold.

A mass of Christina burial was held on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Sydney River with Rev. Will MacPherson officiating. Interment was at the Holy Cross Cemetery, North Sydney, NS. Donations may be made to Loaves and Fishes, Charlotte Street, Sydney, NS or the Canadian Cancer Society. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chantfunderalhome,com Arrangements are under the direction of Chant’s Funeral Home, Sydney, NS.



Country Haven Funeral Home: Obituaries