Food, Friends and Hobby Farming

Lots of grape vines on the property. It's been fun (and very therapeutic) doing a little bit of gathering.

The old owner left a juicer behind, so we got to try it out on a few of the grapes we harvested. Very yummy, and even better if you mix it up with a few other juices. Also discovered an apple tree as well, and made a small amount of apple juice from the few apples that were left. 

A PG friend game to visit while they were down visiting family, and soon Hazel was showing them around the property. I'm very glad that Hazel has adjusted so well so far (way better then I ever expected her too). 

In the process of trying to decide which grape vines should stay and which could go. We (Oma/Mom and me) decided to pick a laundry basket of grapes together and try make grape juice by boiling the grapes and mashing them rather then the little juicer. We probably would have been able to process them all had we stuck to one laundry basket, but I brought one and Oma brought one and soon they were both full! We learned that de-stemming grapes is very time consuming, but also made 3 very large juice jugs full of yummy grape juice that we got to share over the few family events happening that weekend. (we did run out of time though and only made it though about half of each of our baskets)

Family from Smithers was down for a visit, Hazel had not seen them before (at least not old enough to remember). But she warmed up much quicker then expected despite the large amount of people around and really seemed to have a good time. 

Hazel has also grown a lot during and after the move, so we went to the shop to find some Sunday boots that would fit. And what did we find tucked in one of those boots? a long lost favorite little pink bear!

Tired of renos and sorting items for the day, but still wanting to spend time on our property, we started clearing away the grape vines from the shop's back door. 

Hazel was content making flower juice. I love when she just plays and makes things with what she finds in the yard!

Much better! Now I can walk into the shop without ducking under grape vines and walking into as many spider webs!

Playing on a trampoline at a friends house, though we didn't maintain that much contact over the years we had see each other once and while. It was nice to have a catch up visit and see our two "slow warm" girls slowly warm up and play together. 

This is Dad/Opa's hobby barn. A wonderful place to head to every morning!

It has a nice spot inside where you can watch the chickens. There are a few other pens as well with different stages of meat birds too. 

Hazel and Jade really enjoy collecting eggs when they don't need to walk through 90-100 chickens to get to them. 

So far our cats are still sticking around.

And Custard had 5 kittens that we found behind the hay bales (poor cat must have been moved pregnant). I was surprised that they are all so similar looking, so far all the kittens litters have had more variety in coloring.  

Quite a few years ago Dad/Opa gave me a sign that said "Home is where the barn is" with a horse head on it. Though there are not any horses in this barn a lot of concepts are the same. There are animals that need to be cared for and fed, routine chores, the smell of feed and hay, a place to go that just makes you relax as soon as you walk though the doors. 

Moving Day

We did it. Packed up and moved out by 10:00am, September 10th, said our goodbye's and were pulling out with our convoy around 10:30. This place was really the first place we would call a home rather then just a house and it will always be very dear to us. We came as two and left as four, blessings abound!

Saying goodbye was hard, but a moment that I didn't want to regret missing later. Hazel and I walked around the house to say goodbye. "Goodbye house, Goodbye windows, Goodbye Curtains, Goodbye bedrooms" Hazels little voice carried a bit of an echo as we walked around. 

One last look and walk around the back yard while Jared buckled the girls in. 

Dad Flokstra's truck with the moving trailer, Jared's truck with the camping trailer, and our van made up our convoy. 

We made it safely to Chilliwack, our house to call and make a home in the background. It will be a process as we clean out and fix up the place before moving in. But so far we have settled well into the Flokstra's house as we tackle the house project together. Very thankful for all the help and support of family and friends through this big move and transition. 

 

Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the JT Flokstras.

(The year I actually get around to printing them is the year mail to not work... my apologies if your card arrives very late...)

 

Out and About

Jared and I have learned that the easiest way to catch up on conversation is going for a drive, both girls travel well and it actually gives us a fair amount of uninterrupted conversation, which is very hard to get in at home. This was the first longer drive that I did with the van, and it was good for me to see just how well it will suit us for road trips. The Acadia also got sold that morning, which was also very helpful with the mental transition. 

Finally made it too the lake! Been wanting to go for a while but weather and projects just didn't quite allow. It was good to see how Jade did with the water and different setting. 

Outside pealing potatoes in the shade of the sheets that are hanging on the line and listening to the bread maker going in the house.

Afternoon check up on the chickens. Hazel came along and enjoyed chatting with them for a bit. 

Watching Daddy move the left over gravel piles out of the way.

Hazel loves doing the same as Jade and was soon on the grass with her own blanket. 

This was my first evening trying Jade just on a blanket in the grass, it went very well, Jade seem to enjoy it and Nova did a good job with her too. 

The grass has been a project and a half to stay on top of. Unfortunately the ride on mower broke at the end of last season, and we haven't been able to prioritize the time to fix it, so we have been getting lots of walking in with our push mower!

The picture doesn't quite capture the evening sun, the long swaying grass, the lovely cool breeze and beautiful wild flowers! 😍

Finally managed to get this girly back on the tractor, one day something switched and she was suddenly terrified of it. We were having a good time playing in the back yard that evening as I was cleaning up the grass piles, so I thought I would try get her back on a see what happened. It took a bit for her to warm up, but she was having a blast by the end!  

 

Jade, 4 Months

Jade is 4 months! She is still a pretty chill baby (until she is not...). She is in 3-6 months clothes, about 13-14 lbs, rolling from tummy to back pretty consistently after naps, still smiley but you have to work a little harder for them, and she has a little giggle when tickled her or clap her hands. 

These two are really starting to warm up to each other, it's been wonderful to watch the affection grow! Hazel LOVES to match Jade and was thrilled when they both got to wear pink flowers. 

I recently found a Bumbo which allows Jade to sit and watch Hazel play, it keeps both of them entertained for quite a while. Jade LOVES watching Hazel and Jade's eyes follow Hazel everywhere she goes. 

It finally warmed up for a few days and we got to wear a few of the summer outfits I was thinking she might miss out on. 

Very much enjoying this little sweetheart, and glad our family has found it's new rhythm!

 

Naptime and Smiles

All the excitement must have been tiring! Three times in two weeks I had Hazel and Jade taking afternoon naps at the same time. This is quite unexpected as Hazel stopped napping just under a year ago.

Even managed to get both of them into bed after they both feel asleep in me. 

Can't get over how Hazel still curls up in her sleep 😍 

They both had a couch nap that afternoon.

Someone was a bit to tearful one afternoon, so I laid her on the couch for some downtime and she was soon asleep, and Jade went down for her afternoon nap as well.

Jade has been showing some more personality lately which has been so fun, especially when it's mostly smiles and the occasional attempt at a laugh. 

Hazel has been asking to hold Jade more, and acknowledging Jade more. It has been good to see her slowly warming up to the new normal.

On Sunday she even wanted to take pictures with Jade! Considering Hazel doesn't really like pictures this is a pretty big win. And they even both smiled at the same time, at each other! 😍

 

Colds, Baptism, and Family Time

Jade at one week! This is still one of my favorite pictures so far! Unfortunately it was also taken the afternoon before she got the same cold we all had....😔 Jade getting sick was pretty an avoidable as we were all sick the week before....but it was still pretty hard to see your very newborn baby with a cold... 

By Wednesday afternoon Jade was sounding pretty rough, she was quite congested, which is lousy for a newborn/ nursing baby... I had a nurse come by and visit that day, much to my surprise she suggested that we bring Jade into emerge as she had very labored breathing. I was overwhelmed with the suggestion, called Jared to come home with a snot sucker (which I think are gross, but was a better option then the hospital at the moment) and I didn't take my eyes off of Jade until Jared came home. Once Jared was home I was able to calm down a bit as I was quite weepy, the snot sucker helped quite a bit which also helped me relax about the situation. The next afternoon we had a doctor visit booked (another reason we didn't go to emerge the previous evening), and even though Jade's breathing was improved she was still concerned with how labored it was and sent me to the pediatric ward so that the on call doctor there could take a look at her. Hazel was at a friends house for the doctor visit already and it worked to extend her stay for a while. I was in a much better mental space that afternoon so going in for a extra check up wasn't such a overwhelming thought. As hard as it is seeing Jade hooked up to all the different monitors it was nice to be able to see her oxygen level looking good even with her uneven and labored breathing. The pediatrician was a very reasonable man, understanding that our whole family had been sick, and after looking her over he sent us home, but gave us the ability to come back anytime in the next 48 hours if anything got worse. I was quite happy with the compromise as staying at the hospital for continued monitoring had been a possible option when my doctor had sent me in, which didn't really sound like that much fun... 

Hazel and Jade's first time sharing a play space. It was nice and short and went well :)

We were very thankful that we were still able to have Jade's baptism on Sunday, she was much improved by Sunday and at this point was a little stuffy and had a lingering cough. It was a very special family day for us, with lots to be thankful for! On a sentimental note, Jade is wearing the same baptism gown that Jared wore that was made by his Mom, and Hazel is wearing a dress made by Oma.

The Flokstra family braved the snow with their camping trailer to come for a visit for the weekend. It was lovely to have them there for the baptism and Hazel was thrilled to have friends for the weekend! Unfortunately due to the weather our visit got cut short... but we had a lovely time while they were here. 

I can't complain about Jade much, she has been quite the great little sleeper!

Looks like we might have a strawberry blond or maybe even a red headed Jade!

The Flokstra's headed out, but Nana soon showed up! Nana brought lots of new books, which Hazel very much enjoyed! 

Having extra family around has been really good for Hazel so far, it allows her to still have something to do and watch me with baby Jade and get use to me feeding her all the time.

Nana even managed to find a book that made Daddy laugh! The Pout Pout Fish book was quite the hit, but didn't quite beat the two "Big Sister" books that she got that get read over and over again!

Hazel is slowly interacting with her little sister (which Hazel pronounces "little bister") Jade a bit more each day. 

Even caught Hazel singing to Jade during her floor time 😍 (Video below)

And Hazel was okay with sharing some Mommy snuggle time with Jade too.

Some last minute pictures before we had to say Goodbye to Nana.

My very "photogenic" girls... Jade is working on her silly faces already...

One more group pic and then Jared brought Nana to the airport and picked up Aunty Genoa, I believe Jared was at the airport for a total of 25 minutes! Pretty slick little airport nice and close to home!!!