Happy Milestone Birthday

We celebrated Dad's birthday on Monday, November 12th. I won't tell you exactly how old he is but {a} it's a milestone birthday and {b} he is 27 years older than me.

Our dinner conversation centred on the changes that had taken place in the last few decades and how different his life growing up was from Brother's and mine. Made for some interesting discussion.

Anyways, happy birthday, Dad! Here's to many more years.

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365 Photos Recap: Most Meaningful Picture

And the winner is . . . No. 111: Father!

This photo means the most to me because of who is in it. It was just a perfectly captured moment
of my dad and his coffee. I love that I will forever have this photo. Read the whole post here.

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No. 364 - Embrace Your Surroundings

Can you believe that this is the second last photograph? Since I've already known what my last picture would be for some time now, I thought it only fitting that the second to last would include my family.

This is my family. They are my best friends, biggest supporters, favourite people, most valued influence, and I could go on. However, living with these two has shown me the value of embracing the time when you have it. I did not always have the opportunity to live in the same household as either Dad or Brother, so lately, I've been really trying to make a conscious effort to enjoy living with them now. 

And it pays off. I love being around them, and they can make me laugh like no other. They put up with all my crazy crafty hippie shenanigans. And in turn, I get unparalleled support. So, I'm taking this time {and I encourage you too} to embrace my surroundings. Here are some other shots from the family dinner.

LAST PICTURE TOMORROW! WOOT WOOT!

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No. 315 - Scrabble Story

Once upon a time, on Father's Day, the Barters sat down to play Scrabble.

It started out as most Scrabble games do . . .

. . . slightly boring :P

But then Silver got the brilliant idea to play a word in "pirate" language.

So then, we each got ONE fictional word if we could justify it.

Here is Isaac's.

And Dad's {it was something to do with the Matrix}.

Well, one fictional word wasn't enough. So we kept playing that way.

Scrabble is much more entertaining with made-up words.

In the end, Dad won with 301 points.

The End!

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No. 311 - Happy Dad Day

 

{laughing & holding his present}

I know it is easier for me to put things in writing so here are some of my wishes for you on Father's Day 2012.

• I wish that you would have lots of moments of genuine laughter in this year.
• I wish that the friendships and relationships you have formed will grow deeper.
• I wish that you will have clear direction and wisdom in every decision.
• I wish that you will have many precious times with your three children.
• I wish that your talents and hobbies will continue to grow and expand.
• I wish that you will have an inner peace that passes all understanding.

But most importantly,

• I wish that you will always know how much I love you.

Happy Father's Day

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No. 241 - Easter 2012

Today has been such an amazing day so far. 

Here are some pictures.

A beautiful Easter Sunday morning breakfast.

Then, I went to the Easter Sunday morning service at our church. 

It was amazing, and here are some pictures of the production that Dad and Isaac were in.

I cried at this part.

Here I am with the two fabulous actors!

Then our family had Easter dinner, which was absolutely delicious.

He is Risen!

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No. 240 - Under The Weather

So I'm still sick & sticking to my bed. Although this head cold is seriously impinging on my homework assignments, I have a wonderful Dad and brother who make me chicken noodle soup and bring me popsicles.

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No. 207 - Warm Heart & OUAT

I love walking out of my bedroom and seeing this sight.

It warms my heart :)

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I did not like this week's episode of Once Upon A Time save for a few small bits.

Here are my thoughts on "Dreamy".

• Cheesy Moments: Alright I know this whole TV series is cheesy, but the whole dwarf-and-fairy-fall-in-love was just over the top. I know they were trying to be cute and it probably appealed to little children audiences, but ya . . . no.
• Best Interactions: Any time Emma interacts with Mary Margaret or David I keep thinking in the back of my mind, that's her Mom and Dad! So when she had the morning chat with MM, I liked it, and when she had the confrontation with David, I liked it.
• Belle was back!!! I loved her little advice scene.
• Mr. Gold has a complicated history with the nuns???? Wonder what that throwaway line meant?
• No Henry or mystery man, August W. Booth, in this episode. 
• I did like MM and Leroy's interactions, especially when he took out the transformer.
• Next Episode: David is in jail, and hello, Red Riding Hood!

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No. 111 - Father

When I think of Tim Hortons, I think of my Dad. It is definitely his signature drink. You can measure the number of stops between here and Creston (my hometown) by the number of Tim Hortons.

But that is my dad for you. I realized in all my blogging I have not dedicated a post to my father. I have written for Crystal (twice) and for Isaac, but none for Dad. That is weird, considering he is the most influential person in my life.

I think the Tim Hortons metaphor describes my Dad perfectly. Once he finds something he likes, he sticks to it. Loyalty is a good way to describe him. And there is no bigger way he lives out loyalty than to his three children. He is constantly helping us out with our lives whether with advice, encouragement, quality time, or many more ways. All I know is that without him, my life would be so much more difficult.

He celebrated a birthday a couple weeks ago, which sort of went unnoticed (it was the This Is That weekend). So this post is a combination of a "Happy Belated Birthday" and a "Thanks for Everything".

Now off to Tim Hortons to buy a gift card for his stocking . . . :P