My beautiful Aidan...as I take your hand, and we walk through the garden of life, may I be ever open to seeing the world through your eyes...full of innocent wonder, delight and joy. As you take my hand, and we walk through the garden of life, may you be ever open to seeing the world through my eyes...full of gratitude, wisdom and peace. May we be blessed on our 'ramblings' together. Love, Nana

Monday, September 23, 2013

Someday, my little one...

Today marks the one year anniversary of my day in Paris!  Having travelled two weeks earlier with friends to Nice on the Cote d'Azur, and meeting up with the rest of the tour group, our two week journey through France began, and ended one year ago today in Paris.

The Harbour in Nice
It was a trip of a lifetime!  From Nice, we travelled throughout the south of France, visiting many beautiful towns and villages in Provence...Arles, Avignon, Carcassone, Rennes-le-Chateau, Arques, Montsegur, to name just a few.


Carcassone Castle
 
The 'Old City' of Carcassone
 
The 'Tour de Magdala' at Rennes le Chateau
  
Montsegur
  
Beautiful Provence!
 Near the end of our journey, we spent two days in Chartres, where I got to cross an item off my 'bucket list'...a visit to Chartres Cathedral where I was able to walk the ancient labyrinth. 

Chartres Cathedral
 
Stained Glass of Chartres Cathedral
 
The Chartres Labyrinth!
 
 Each town, each village, held its own magic.  The people were most welcoming and friendly. Even with the language barrier, we somehow managed to 'speak' and understand each other!

The last two days of the trip were spent in Paris.  I needed two weeks!  Arriving in Paris from Chartres, we visited the church of Sainte Sulpice, and then on to the Louvre for the afternoon.

Waiting to enter the Louvre Museum
 
The Louvre Museum

What's a visit to the Louvre...without the Mona Lisa!
 
Or...the Venus de Milo!
 
In the evening, our tour group gathered for one last celebratory meal, as our journey together came to an end.  I had one more day to spend in Paris before journeying on to visit friends in England.  Having met Linda, a lovely fellow traveller from the tour group, we decided to both see Paris together.  A lot was packed in to that day! 

After purchasing bus tickets for the 'hop on, hop off' bus service, our first stop was a visit to the Eiffel Tower.  A short elevator ride up the tower allowed us a wonderful view of Paris as far as the eye could see.

The Trocadaro from the Eiffel Tower
Then it was on to Notre Dame cathedral, built on the Ille de la Cite, followed by lunch at a lovely little sidewalk cafĂ©.  A visit to the famous 'Shakespear & Company'  book store; a walk through the gardens of the Trocadaro at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, then back on the bus to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.

Notre Dame and the River Seine
 
The Arc de Triomphe from the Champs Elysees
 And of course, I couldn't come home without finding a 'garbage truck' for the little love of my life...!
 
A Paris garbage truck for my little Aidan!
 
As nightfall approached, we returned to the Eiffel Tower and boarded one of the many barges that take visitors up and down the River Seine.  As we boarded the boat, the Eiffel Tower lit up in all its glory in a blaze of flashing white lights, against a magnificent golden backdrop.  Our journey down the Seine showed us why Paris is called the 'City of Light'...every beautiful building and bridge was flooded with light.

The Eiffel Tower at night
 
 

I didn't want the day to end.  But it did.  The next day I had to leave and travel on to England. I used to wonder why people would go on about how amazing Paris was.  I thought it to be 'just another city'.  What was so special, I wondered? Now I know.  Now I 'get it'!  Paris is magical! My heart ached to leave. 

Since coming home, I've spent some time this past year learning all about Paris, and learning (ever so slowly!) how to speak french.  The list is long of the things I want to do upon my return there...the museums, the gardens, the sidewalk cafes, walks along the Seine.  

J'adore Paris!  Je t'aime mon petit Aidan! 

Someday, my little one...Nana will take you to Paris!

   


Thursday, August 29, 2013

Nana...how many penises does God have?

Many years ago, back when the little love of my life was a tiny bundle of joy, I made myself a silent promise.  I promised that when the time came, and all the questions began, I would answer them as honestly as I could.

I can't remember when it all started.  The questions.  And more questions.  But, true to my own promise, I answered, and still answer, every one as honestly as I can, to the best of my knowledge, and in a way a little six year old can hopefully understand.

My little Aidan has so many questions!  He has learnt such a lot these past couple of years.  And I have discovered I know a lot more than I thought I did!
Lately, we have taken to checking in with 'Google' when the questions have been a little complicated to answer, or if I just plain don't know the answer.

There have been questions about the universe...why does it get dark at night...how does the earth turn...how hot is the sun, to questions about life...why do we die...where does our spirit go...is there ice cream in heaven. And on and on...

Recently however, I was asked the most interesting of questions!  (I sometimes have no idea what this child thinks, or why, but he keeps churning out the questions!) 


It was one of those hot, humid summer days, where all I wanted to do was stay indoor in my cool, air-conditioned house.  Being too hot even to go to the beach, my little Aidan decided he'd like to hang out with nana and have some 'treats'. 
So there we were, just hanging out eating popsicles, when, out of the blue..."Nana, how many penises does God have?"  Hmmm...how to answer this one?  Once I overcame the initial shock of the question, and fleetingly asking myself where the issue of the multiple penises came from, I proceeded to answer the question as best I could.  "I don't think God has any penises, munchkin."  "But why, nana?"  "Well, God is spirit, and probably doesn't have to go pee, like we do, so he wouldn't need a penis."  "Nana, does God have a vagina, if he doesn't have a penis?" "No, bud, God probably doesn't have a vagina, either, even though God could be a girl and not a boy, or maybe God could be both a girl and a boy....!  At this point, as you can tell, I took to rambling!

Anyway, my answer seemed to have worked!  Oh, how I long for the days when the questions were as simple as "Nana, why is the sky blue?"





Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Summertime Fun!


This past weekend we visited Aidan's Uncle Doug and Auntie Jane, and had some summertime fun splashing in their swimming pool...

Yikes! It's cold!

The water was a little cool at first...

Well, maybe not too cold!
But it didn't take long...
 
Catch me if you can, Uncle Doug!
To make a splash...
 
Look Nana...I can swim!
And have some fun!

 

Monday, July 1, 2013

RAWR...it's Party Time!

The little love of my life turned six this past weekend!  (My, how
the years fly by!)  This year's party was all about dinosaurs...

The Birthday Boy!
 Several of Aidan's kindergarten classmates joined him at the local bowling alley to celebrate.  The table was decorated with dinosaurs...

 
And there were dinosaur tails and head masks...

 
Great fun was had by all at the bowling lanes...
 


 
...followed by pizza and dinosaur cake...
 

Yummy Dinosaur Cake!

 
A 'RAWR' ing good time was had by all...
 
 
Happy Birthday, my little dinosaur!
 
 

 
 



Thursday, June 27, 2013

Graduation Day!

Today was Graduation Day!  All the parents and grandparents were invited to the special ceremony where all the little graduates received their diplomas, and posed for photo's with their teachers...

Aidan and his Kindergarten teachers
 The ceremony was followed with cold juice and a delicious special
graduation cake...
 
Yummy Graduation Cake!

 Aidan's great-grandmother was delighted to be invited to the ceremony...
 
Aidan and 'GG'
...and took quite a liking to Aidan's graduation Mortar Board hat
and diploma...
 
 
And so another milestone is crossed.  It's off to Grade One in September!  But that's a long time from now.  Summer is here!  Time for some fun...swimming in the pool, activities at the library, afternoons at the beach and sleepovers at nana's house! 
 
I hope you have a fun summer my little one!  You deserve it.  You have worked so hard at school all year and learned so many wonderful things.  You are such a smart little boy, and nana is so proud of you!  Congratulations my little graduate!
 
 



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Graduating Kindergarten!

Tomorrow, the little love of my life will be graduating from Kindergarten!  Turning six in another four days!  Where does the time go? 

 
It really does 'seem like only yesterday' that my 'little angel' was just a tiny baby...
 
 
 
 


Saturday, January 26, 2013

Back from being AWOL

It's hard to believe that it has been two months since my last post!  That day was a beautiful, sunny late fall day.  Warm enough to draw us to the beach just one last time before the cold days of winter set in.
Once December arrived on my doorstep, life became a whirl of baking, decorating, and gift making for the holiday season.  Somewhere in there I found some time to spend with Aidan, making memories for him to remember.
In between the sniffles and sore throats that seem to run rampant among the kindergarten children, we did get to visit Santa...


...and we did get to make a gingerbread house this year...


...and some (rice crispy) 'coal' for Papa...




...and Nana did get to light and enjoy her Yule log...


...and a little boy did get to lay under the Christmas tree and dream of 'monster trucks'...


The little love of my life doesn't have TV, so fortunately he is not exposed to all the advertisements for kids toys.  He is however, allowed to spend a little time each day on 'youtube' watching garbage trucks pick up garbage (who knew!?) as well as his latest interest, Monster Trucks (aghh!!)  So, since being in possession of no more than four garbage trucks, he decided he'd like a monster truck for Christmas this year.  We managed to find the biggest, ugliest monster truck, much to his delight!

And in the peace and quiet of the post-Christmas days, I found myself outdoors on the day of the last full moon of 2012, and looking up to the sky to see...


...the 'old' world leaving, under the wings of the dove of Peace, and a 'new' world descending on a beautiful rainbow.  Happy New Year!

January snuck in quietly, and I enjoyed having some time to reclaim my pre-December life.  Sewing, cooking, taking care of parents, Tuesdays and Thursdays with Aidan.  Then the 'flu bug' hit!  Went away, then came back for another visit!  And that's how we've spent most of January.  Dare I say we see light at the end of the tunnel?  Let's hope February sees a return to good health for us all!