January 2013

Wow January felt like forever! Even worse, I would think about updating the blog and it would break my heart a little as I felt like I had nothing but negative to write about. I have lots of blogs to post today, since I had many saved half written ones. I was going to delete them all and then I decided to leave them as is and finish them off. It's a true look into our life lately.

Our first week back home after our Christmas vacation, Scott partially separated his shoulder at hockey practice. It was a long week, as it was his right shoulder, so he wasn't able to do much after that. For a guy that never stops moving, he was not a happy camper.


The second week of January continued on with Scott getting the flu badly, and then I had it for the weekend.


The third week of January, however, took the title. I was driving 4 of my students in our little red rocket to St. Walburg for a curling game. Before we left, I mentioned to another teacher of mine that I didn't have a good feeling about this, but I wasn't sure what it was. She mentioned in a joking way "If I don't hear from you by 7pm, I'll get in my truck and come find you." As we got into the vehicle, the middle seat belt in the back didn't work, my student quickly said "Oh well, I'll be fine." I adamantly made sure it worked and we were off. Long story short, we hit ice, did a few spins and when we hit the shoulder on the other side of the road, flipped landing on the roof and then rolled again landing on the wheels. Since everyone had seatbelts on, we were all okay minus a few bumps and bruises and one minor concussion. I was so so thankful! Scott and all the girls' parents and principals of my school met us at the hospital. I knew the car would be a total loss, and the stress set in very quickly that we didn't have a vehicle to drive after we arrived home from the hospital. The inconvenience alone was torture for a girl that plans everything. We are just so thankful everyone is okay, and know now that God has a plan in everything.

From 3 to 2

Simon was adopted while we were away at Christmas and is adapting well into his new home! He has a sister name Luda and they have changed his name to Jack.  We will definitely foster again as it was a great experience, but for now want to focus on our two pups. Kale was not a happy camper when we returned home after Christmas, and I think we've finally convinced him that we're not leaving forever. We're also working on getting him better with younger children. A lot of our friends have young children (newborn - 2 years old), and he is petrified of them. He has not been aggressive, but rather runs away. Gilmour is fantastic with kids, but has developed a new hate for having his nails clipped, and they are horribly long, and hurt when he scratches. He weighs 80 pounds, so between the 2 of us we can't hold him down and get his nails cut. If we do, we're lucky to get one done a day, and boy does he howl when we do it.

Jack (Simon) comfortable in his new home!



Last Week of Work

Is it really already the end of December? Time is moving so quickly and we are VERY excited for this coming week.

We've had great Christmas concerts the last 2 weeks and are now on to our last 2 this week. Scott does the sound for the Jubilee Christmas concert on Wednesday evening, and my piano students and their families are coming on Tuesday evening for a mini recital at our house! That leaves us with today and tomorrow to get organized and start packing - we leave for Edmonton at 3:30pm on Thursday. Thankfully, I took Thursday afternoon off in order to get things together and everything ready for the dogs so we can leave right after school. We're a little nervous about leaving our puppies. We know they will be in fantastic hands and will be fine, but they truly are our "babies."

I've had a relaxing day today as Scott woke up this morning with a horrible flu. He has not moved from the bed, and the dogs have been sleeping with him all day, so I've gotten lots done! The only sad part is we missed out on a midget hockey game today and our Sunday School Christmas Concert :(

We cannot wait for Friday and to be seeing our 2 beautiful nieces and all of our wonderful family! Christmas is the BEST holiday ever - we love it. I thought I was a little Christmas crazy this past year, but turns out Scott was right there with me. We've had a countdown going, we've enjoyed talking about being with both of our families and Christmas traditions and laughed at the fact that we'll be driving on the 401 where we will be driving with more vehicles in that time span than we have been in an entire year on the road. It's been a year since we've been to Ontario, and now that we're settled into our "home," it has made this Christmas trip that much more exciting. There is no stress to this trip, just pure excitement!

We are truly blessed with the family that we have and the "family" that we've created here. This week brings everyone together with lots of Christmas celebrations happening here and then headed to Ontario to be with our close loved ones.

Christmas Photos

We have a fantastic friend here that has great photography skills, but hasn't fully developed his business yet. We asked him to do our family pictures for us this Christmas, and they are fantastic! Here's my 2 favourites! Our sweet puppy Simon (black and white collie) is a foster puppy. We have been praying that he finds his forever home. He has settled in well and is well trained, but we'd like to see him go to a good home before he gets too attached to us and his surroundings. 



Peyton Valerie Dudgeon

I'm behind on blogging....again. Anyway, I had some posts started that I left and this was one of them, so I figured on a relaxing day like today I'd finish them all, so you will get to read multiple posts!

My sister Kaitlyn delivered a beautiful baby girl, Peyton Valerie on November 29, 2012 at 7:39am weighing 6 lbs 10 oz. She is just so sweet and we have been told very laid back and cuddly. Even better she looks just like my sister and God gave her red hair! Valerie is Kaitlyn's middle name and my Grandmother's first name. We are so looking forward to cuddling this sweet little girl in 5 days!! Here's a few pictures:

A Quick Update

Major busy/exciting points in our life right now consist of the following:


1. I'm practicing piano for a choir concert this coming Sunday. I'm accompanying a choir of about 25 adults in a musical that is 1 1/2 hours long. My wrists are holding up alright, but I've been busy alternating between heat and ice packs and just praying I can make it to the end of the concert.

2. Scott has started his Senior A hockey games, and I love them! They are the one thing that I will not book anything else at the same time and it's my enjoyment time. He has 2 games this coming weekend. He has also lost over 20 pounds. Yes I said 20 pounds, and they're still dropping off him! He will be shaking his head when he sees this, but I had to say it!

3. We are fostering (yes I said fostering and it will stay that way) a lab/collie puppy for the Humane Society named Simon. He is absolutely adorable and we love him, but we know that 3 dogs is just too many. A loving farm would be the perfect place for him so he has some "jobs" of his own to do. We've had him for 3 weeks and will keep him until somebody is approved for adoption.

4. We are going to be an Aunt and Uncle sometime this week! We're already counting down the days until Christmas so we'll be able to meet the new addition to the Dudgeon family. And see sweet Ellee, it's been a year!!

5. We did family pictures on Sunday and am so excited to see how they turned out!! We have some improvements happening in our house in the next couple of weeks and it will be a focal point.

6. I love Christmas season!!!! It is my most busiest time as a band teacher, but I absolutely love it. Even more, decorating the house for Christmas, ahhh I could spend a fortune. It doesn't help that Scott loves Christmas too and isn't always the best at saying no to more Christmas decor.

7. 17 days of school left and then we will be on the plane to Ontario. Can't believe it'll be a year since we were there, time is traveling by fast.

30 Days of School Left....

...yes I've started the countdown. I even have students who make sure the countdown is changed on my white board every morning. There is just something about when November hits that it feels that much closer to my favourite holiday of the year than in October.

Scott and I are REALLY looking forward to this coming weekend. We're head to Prince Albert for Friday and Saturday. Scott's coaching in a hockey tournament and it's this weekend that we've turned into a tradition of purchasing our Christmas decor for the year! Last year, we bought all the stuff for our Christmas tree with left over gift cards from our wedding, we were in a basement apartment and I was bound to make it beautiful. This year, we're headed for decor for the house.
Outdoor and indoor lights, garland and my most exciting things yet - shelves!
Scott is building this for the main entrance...

Yes it's from pinterest! We've also decided how to decorate the living room wall over the grand piano, so I'm just so excited!!! In Sask, Rememberance Day is a government holiday, we also get an extra day this weekend for the time we spend doing Parent/Teacher Interviews, so every November we have a 4 day weekend - it is wonderful! We're both looking forward to a fun couple of days out of Meadow Lake, and a couple of relaxing days at home.

 We don't have a lot of over exciting events happening in our life right now, but at the same time we enjoy that. This year is very much more relaxing than last year, and we know what to expect. Last year at this time we were both pulling our hair out with report cards. Yes it is still a busy and stressful time, but a little more relaxing when we know what to expect.  We are learning to treasure life moments and enjoy all that we have been blessed with.