More fun in the SUN this weekend!!!

Brad and I spent Sunday enjoying our beautiful weather!!!
Level 6 kayak compitition at Bate Island:

They make it look SO easy!!!

Look Mama Light!!! Your Ground hog has a cousin in Ottawa!!!

Belated birthday BBQ for Darren & Stacy

We hosted a wonderful day of sun, fun and BBQ, CHEZ O'Neil THIS WEEKEND... A small family get together to celebrate the belated birthdays of myself and darren!!

Stacy and Mama Chris:
Logan, Kim and a VERY PREGNANT Stacy...(Yes, I am SURE I am only 6 months pregnant and NO I am NOT carrying twins!!!):

Da Girls:

La Devlin Gals:

Da Boyz:

Grandpa and Nana McCready with Baby Logan:

Playing with Logan:

LOGAN:

The FEAST:

More FEAST:

...AND MORE FEAST:

Darren and Stacy, BIRTHDAY CAKE...again:

Not sure WHO these charachters are?!?!?!?

Don't distract MAMA while she's shoving her face full of CAKE!!!

Let the GAMES begin...PICTIONARY!!!

...more game fun...

AND....MORE GAME FUN!!!!

We has a WOMDERFUL time on Saturday :) Thanks all who Joined us!!! xoxo

...and...just a few more pics!!!

Sitting by the upper pond at the house:

View of the lower pond at the house:

View of the front entrance (and new home of the easter bunny):

View of a portion of the lower yard and driveway. Also, the new Harley Garage/ Gardening Shed:

Veiw from the house, down to the lake:

More Pics from our WEEKEND in MO!!!

We tried something new with the easter bird this year....
A DEEP FRIED TURKEY!!! Here is Papa getting ready to submerge the bird into the boiling oil!!! Brad and papa took the utmost care in keeping an eyeful watch on the bird as it cooked in the frier for just over an hour. the redneck way to do this is to set up the frier in the garrage, with two camping chairs side by each where the men could sit and watch...every so oftern if the women were feeling up to it they would bring the men a fresh beer. Afterall, it is very strenous watching the bird cook...

...And the bird is going in:

And we all make the final preperations so that we may now enjoy our easter feast!!!

EASTER WEEKEND IN MISSOURI!!!

We went to visit mama and papa Light this year for the easter weekend...and my birthday also happened to fall on this weekend!!! Very exciting. Our trip was great, but way too short :(

Brad emailed the easter bunny to let him know that we would not be home this year and where we could be found if we were lucky enough to make the easter bunny's GOOD BOOKS this year (which we were)...

Here is the picture of the Easter bunny (he is about the size of my palm) who was found in the garage and then later made a little nest under the front step:


Here is a pic of Mama and Papa Light AND Brad and Myself...oh, and of course SWEET PEA who is also there with us, but will remain camera shy for another 3 months. This photo was taken at the Cresent hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas:

Here is Brad and I atRoaring River State Park (at the fish hatchery) , MO:

GIVE ME THAT CAKE!!!

SPRING IS GETTING VERY CLOSE.....

...Brad giving the vehicles a WASH!!! :)
...AND sweeping the gravel left behing by the snow plows over the winter!!!

Great Grandma Leila Pearl Frazier (Mama Light's Grandma)

Leila Pearl Frazier (January 2, 1916 - March 28, 2007)

VIDEO TRIBUTE

http://www.lovefuneralhomes.com/index.cfm

Leila Pearl (Leonard) Frazier, 91, of Calhan, Colorado passed away at Cottonwood Ridge Assisted Living Care Center with her family by her side on March 28, 2007.
Leila was born on January 2, 1916 in Strang, Nebraska to Harvey and Jessie (Mullikin) Leonard. She was the fourth child of twelve children. Leila graduated from Sugar City High School in 1933, after attending grade school in Edison.
Leila married Cecil Frazier in Las Animas, Colorado on March 16, 1935 and they were blessed with eight children. The couple lived in Delta, Colorado from 1973 – 1994.
Leila loved her family very much, especially her grandchildren, great grandchildren and her great-great grandchildren. She enjoyed many things, especially watching family members in their sporting events, playing card games, dominoes, and yahtzee. But, her real passion was quilting. In fact, that was one of her many contributions to the Calhan United Methodist Church, where she was an active member since 1994.
Leila was preceded in death by her parents; husband Cecil; her son Douglas, a granddaughter Karrie Frazier, great granddaughters Malea Kritine Frazier, and LaKota Lyn Wilson, her sister Ida Green Sterrett, her brothers: Marion Leonard, Roy Leonard, George Leonard, Richard (Dick) Leonard and Warren Leonard.
Leila is survived by seven of her children: Melvin and his wife Betsey of Delta, Colorado, Leonard and his wife Martha of Rush, CO; Evelyn and her husband Dale Gotschall of Calhan, CO; Jerald and his wife Nelda of Guymon, OK; Jesse and his wife Dana of Fowler, CO; Patt and her husband Don Bromley of Aurora, CO; and Clint and his wife Zorene of Colorado Springs, CO.
Leila is also survived by four sisters: Kathleen Lister of Loveland, CO; Velma McDonald of Rocky Ford, CO; Verna Sorenson of Colorado Springs, CO; and Jeanne and her husband Kenneth Mays of Olney Springs, CO.
Leila is also survived by twenty-five grandchildren, thirty-four great grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.
Visitation was held on Friday, March 30, 2007 from 6-8 at the Love Funeral Home in Limon, CO.
Leila’s funeral service was held on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at 2:00 P.M. at Living Word Community Church located at 532 Colorado Avenue, Calhan, CO.

Sugar Shack and Pancake Breakfast!!!

The McCready/Leblanc/O'Neil Clan's met up for a walk through the sugarbush and a pancake breakfast last Sunday!!! Ummmmm mmmmm

Unfortunately we were minus a clan memeber as Liam had to work!!! :(

Pics from St. Paddy's Day!!!

We had a great time on St. Paddy's Day...Met up at the Baton Rouge in Kanata for supper...I highly reccod the Santa Fe Chicken (ummm), went to the Sens game at Scotia Bank Place and then out for drinks (I was the chauffer) after for a few hours...
Then of course back to Chez O'Neil's for a night Cap... GOOD TIMES....

Stacy & Brad:
Stacy, Brad & Amanda:

Josh & Brad:

Pat & Nadine:

Jarred & Amanda:

DS Bathroom Renos COMPLETE?!?!?

Yes, Complete with new ceramic tile, patched drywall, new paint, new trim and everything (toilet and sink) put back in place without any major incident!!!
Hubby did a wonderful job!!!
Now all we need is a few things to dress up the bathroom a bit (hang the mirror, find a nice shelf unit for the corner)...OHhhh the possibilities are endless!!!!
Here are a few photos...

Make sure to Vote!!!

I finally UPDATED the blog poll which can be found on the right hand side of the page!!!
Make sure to vote!!!

Down Stairs Bathroom Renos are...

STILL IN PROGRESS!!!

The toilet and sink have since been put back and the trim has been put on...We are currently in the middle of painting the trim. A few touch-ups to the walls and the trim around the shower and we should be COMPLETE!!!

My husband did a wonderful job at laying down the tile...this was his first attempt with tiling!!!!

Will post pictures of the final completed renos once we are officially done!!!

Here is a pic of the bathroom renos IN PROGRESS...


Here is a pic of the bathroom before we started...

Our FIRST look at BABY O'Neil

Brad and I finally got to see real live pics of our little one today!!! It was SO exciting...maybe a wee bit emotional ...LOL

We asked the tech NOT to tell us the sex so the pics are mostly of the body/face :)
During the ultrasound we were able to see the cutest little head, face body, arms, legs, hands, feet fingers and toes!!!! LOL...from what I can tell all the appropriate parts are there!!! AND...YES..there is only 1 babe in there :)

We get the official dr. results at my next apt March 14th :)

Baby was a bit sleepy (had to poke my tummy a bit, which startled him/her)!!! But we saw him/her stretch, move, open the mouth and even roll over and put his/her back to us when I asked for one more view of the face...(daddy's baby for sure - only gonna do things if they want too)!!!

Baby's heart rate was 150 bpm (normal) today and he/she weighs 9 oz???...maybe it was grams...now I can't remember!!!

I forgot to get the ultrasound tech to confirm, but I'm pretty sure we are 18 weeks + 2 days along :)
YAY!!!!

LAST TREATMENT

I haven't mentioned this on the blog up until now. Not because it isn't something extremely important and not because it doesn't affect us as a family...quite the opposite actually...BUT, I wanted to stay focused on the here and now rather than trying to update every detail on the blog when I didn't necessarily know all the facts at the exact time...

So now, I'll back track a little bit.

Just after the Christmas holidays, my mom (better known as Mama Light) was diagnosed with "High Grade Ductal Carcinoma", which is a form (and I believe the most common type) of breast cancer. I'd like to say I can't even imagine how my mom felt when she was faced unsuspectingly with that news...

...Unfortunately, I have a pretty good idea how it felt for her (on some levels) as the term or diagnosis of Cancer is nothing new for our family ( I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in 1995 and again in 1998...Note: I've been in remission for almost 10 years - so Don't panic). Anyway, I'm glad I could relate to her and how incredibly scary this must have been for her to hear this diagnosis.

Nobody ever walks into their doctors office thinking they'll come out finding out they have Cancer. Everyone know someone who has been affected by this crazy disease, but nobody ever thinks it could happen to them. Fair enough, because really...how sucky would life be if you walked around always wondering if today would be the day you'd be the one being diagnosed with that big scary "C" word.

Yes it is scary...some diagnosis more than others. But what makes it scary is when you only hear the word cancer and you haven't yet learned what your type of cancer entails since the range is SO broad. My point here is, I know HOW scary this diagnosis had to be for mama Light and how in a matter of seconds she likely had a billion (at least) things going through her head. ...And how scary it was for everyone around her...at least in the beginning.

Because in the beginning you only know it's cancer. You don't know how bad or good (if cancer can be good) it is until further investigation (which take several test, reports, doctors etc...)...you have know idea what the treatment is (so you imagine THE WORST), you wonder if there even is a treatment (it seems we often only hear the worse case stories), you think about the possible side effects (everyone has seen a movie or seen that person who because of the sometimes horrid side effects "looks like a cancer patient")...you wonder if you can or even want to go through what could possibly be hell. But before you (as the person receive the diagnosis) even think about all that, you know what crosses your mind first...?!?! What about my family, will THEY be ok through all this?!?!?

For me I worried constantly about how this was affecting my mom and dad,,,for Mama Light, I imagine she wondered how her husband, her daughter and now her grandchild who is on his/her way would be affected by all of this. And so because of that NO MATTER WHAT, you put on the bravest face you know how (even if you aren't feeling all that brave)...

Mama Light is truly one of the BRAVEST women I know. Not just for this, but for everything. I am so proud of her. She indeed put on her bravest face for my dad and I in particular, but of course all of our family and even though I know this whole experience has had to be very scary for her she never let us believe she was nervous or sad or mad or whatever...She was just BRAVE...and all the time...and took everything involved head on (which in my experience, is the BEST way to handle a cancer diagnosis....HEAD ON).

The key to making it through something like this is having an excellent medical team, educating yourself on every detail of the diagnoses and keeping the most positive attitude throughout.

Since this original diagnosis, which luckily was caught fairly early, Mama Light (and our family) has probably learned way more than we ever wanted to about Ductal Carcinoma. She has been though a number of tests (some not so bad and other quite painful)...She had surgery in which the were able to completely remove the cancerous area completely through a lumpectomy...and as of today she will have completed her prescribed radiation treatment which consisted of two radiation treatments a day for the last 7 days. And like I said, through it all she has been totally brave.

I'm not sure what happens now. I assume she is cured?!?!? I suspect her doctors will keep a close eye on her year to year which is great. There was talk of prescribing a preventive drug (Tomoxofine..sp?!?) for the next few years in the early diagnosis, but I'm unsure what the deal is on that currently.

Mama Light had two VERY evident things to focus on here...one was to get herself back into tip top shape and the other to get through this all so she could focus more on the arrival of her grandbaby O'Neil due to arrive in July!!!

My mom has always said that if you want something in life (whatever that "something" may be) that you have to make a plan and then make it happen and that a person can do anything with a good attitude. Once again she has lead by example and once again the lady I call mama Light has truly inspired me with life.

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!

We thank the "Mc-Paps" residence for the kind hospitality and great super bowl party!!! Of course I still say we ate way too much food!!! I'm still suffering!!!
uhhh, I'm not really into football...But I LOVE watching the super bowl commercials. I think the guys would have enjoyed the game a bit more if we didn't ask so many questions...ahahahah

The Downstairs Bathroom...

...Is currently undergoing a few minor renovation...
I say "minor" although thing aren't currently looking too "MINOR" as the toilet and the sink are both currently sitting out in the hallway...
I should dig out some before pictures!!! I'll definitely take a few during and after shots as well to post VERY SOON - I hope :)

Brad worked very diligently on Saturday sanding down walls, and laying down plywood in preparations for the renos!!! While he was doing this I was giving the main level of the house a good clean, however, 3 days later and you would never know it :(

Hopefully before the weekend we can at least get the walls primed and ready to paint...and if we're feeling super ambitious maybe even get the flooring started...

TO BE CONTINUED:

WINTERLUDE in Ottawa!!!

This past weekend marked the start of WINTERLUDE 2007 for the City of Ottawa!!! With our wacky weather of the last few months we weren't sure that winterlude would be quite the same if there wasn't going to be snow, ice or the usual chilly February temperatures...

HOWEVER, mother nature once again pulled through for us!!! We got our cold temperature, which made snow cover the ground and ice cover the canal...AWESOME!!!

On Friday night Brad and I, along with about 10,000 other folk, went to the Rideau Canal Skateway (American Express snow bowl) to watch the opening Ceremonies for the Winterlude festivities...Randy Bachman was the main feature for the concert on Friday night.

After the concert we took a short stroll through Confederation park to take a look at the ice sculpture artists (I guess that is what they are called?!?!?) hard at work on their projects for the competitions coming up.

The night was perfect as it was only about -5 degrees, and it was snowing (the big fluffy snowflakes that I totally love)!!!