This one is Jan 08!

Well, I know I am not keeping up with this thing too well, so I apologize to one and all for not being a dedicated blogger.

Things around the LaFrance house have been super busy. My job is going well, i worked a lot of crazy hours in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but now things have calmed down and we are back to normal. My hours have been severely cut back as a result though and now I am contemplating finding another job. We will see when we get back in February from..........Walt Disney World!!! Yup that's right folks! We are going to Florida and will be gone for 2 whole weeks! I am sooo excited! The kids are going nuts thinking about it! Can't wait to go!

Christmas was wonderful this year. We are so blessed to have the family we do. Christmas is always so special for us. The kids were spoiled as usual. And they were so good too.

Kids with Santa

On the plus side as well, Ethan was accepted for the disability tax credit for his aspergers so that will help us out a little financially for the next several years come tax time. He also has been getting the psychometric testing that we have been waiting for. It seems like it took forever for this day to come but in the end I am just happy it happened at all. The ball is really starting to roll for him and hopefully we can get the right interventions and therapies to help him live as normal a life as possible.

We are also looking at houses. We've been renting all these years and now are getting into a position where buying a house seems like a reasonable option. In the next year or so we expect to buy. This is also why I am looking for a job that has more hours. The more I can contribute the sooner we can buy and it will help ease Shawn's financial burden. We have a couple we plan to look at this week, assuming that they weren't sold before we call the real estate agent. Still I think it will be closer to next year before we actually take the plunge. When that happens then I will have finally fulfilled one of my greatest dreams. Having lived in rentals most of my life the thought of FINALLY owning my own home.....it's more than I could ever imagine!

We did have one little incident this winter. Ethan and Jenna decided to play hairdresser one day and as a result, Ethan has a buzz cut and Jenna a very short layered bob with a deep side part to cover her bald spot. That's right, Ethan cut her hair off all the way to her scalp. While I sobbed initially at the thought of my beautiful baby girls hair being ruined, I have come to laugh at the incident now and appreciate tales from other moms who's kids did the same thing.

Emergency trip to the hair dressers. You can see some of the damage

The bald spot courtesy of Ethan

I'm sorry mom...now I look like a dork!

This is from October 2007

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Lets see....what has been happening in our little corner of the world? A whole heck of a lot of stuff is what! LOL

To start with we had a great summer. We took a week and went to Manitoulin Island with our friends, the Korvers. We had a nice relaxing vacation and the kids loved it. Every day at the beach, just being able to chill and take a well deserved break. The people up there are fantastic; so nice! We went to the Haweater festival, watched the boat parade and a great fireworks presentation and we also went the the Wiki Pow Wow which was a neat experience.

The Wiki Pow Wow

Us in front of a tee pee

We were also very busy this whole summer with wedding plans for Brian and Becca. They decided to fast track the engagement and get married on September 22nd! So there was a lot to do and very little time to do it in! I was a bridesmaid and Shawn was best man. Jenna and Ethan were the flowergirl and ringbearer respectively. The wedding went off fabulously! It was a wonderful day. Perfect weather and everything. The ceremony started at 12 at the Cheyne Presbyterian Church in Stoney Creek and the reception was at Liuna Gardens in Vineland. The kids did a fabulous job. Ethan was so serious!!! They both looked so adorable. The bridal party wore burgundy. I had a fantastic dress with matching wrap. Becca's dress was made for her by her Aunt Donna. She looked stunning. Such a beautiful bride. The ceremony was touching...very nice indeed. The reception was a lot of fun...Shawn MC'ed that on top of his best man duties. The whole day was just beyond great. We are so thrilled to have another girl in the family! Becca is wonderful and we love her to pieces!

Jenna the Flower Girl

Mr and Mrs Brian LaFrance

Shawn and I

Indy Ethan the ringbearer

School is going fairly well so far for the kids. Jenna and Ethan both really like their teachers. Ethan is getting a little bit of EA support which is great..I think that will help him tremendously. We are still awaiting the psychometric testing, but we are hoping to have that going soon.

So now that the wedding is over and the kids are both in school full time...what's a girl like me to do with her time? She gets a job! That's right! Rachel has rejoined the world of the gainfully employed! I am working for CPI Corp which is the Wal-Mart photo studio. It also has a fun factory attached to it which is very similar to a build a bear (only less expensive). I really like it there so far. I work with some great people and they are willing to work it so that I can still be around to get the kids off to school and pick them up. I am very fortunate. It also means that with me working we would need a second vehicle so I got myself a 2003 Chevy Venture! It drives great and I love having it. It will definately improve the quality of life we have!

Anyway, that's about it for now. I will try to update this more often. Keep in touch in the meantime!

A new family website....

Well, after a year of complaining that I disliked our blog format and its limitations I have decided to try a new forum to post on. So I will try my best to bring over all the old posts from the old one and hopefully this one will be more user friendly and not give me grief in posting pictures like the old one did! And if that's the case you may just hear from me more often!