Monthly Snaps of Life

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As I scroll through my photos in my phone, I am getting a glimpse of how my life is changing.

Not that I don’t notice in real life; but it’s interesting to see it represented in phots – kind of living proof.

I am still seeing my clients virtually – not sure if/when I will return to live sessions. And I am building up my coaching practice too – which will always be virtual. So on my phone are tons and tons and tons of pictures of my white board that I take for clients during our sessions and send to them after. In person, I always wrote on paper and left the paper for them. So, now it is shots of my whiteboard. Not to brag, but there is some good teaching on that white board!!

I also have a lot more videos of me teaching since I am doing so many facebook lives and the videos save on my phone. In addition, I have a one second a day app that I use to capture the day in a 1-2 second video. It’s fun at the end of the year to see them all strung together.

But the main thing I notice is how the pictures have changed representing my family getting older. It’s hard enough getting texts from your older kids, never mind a photo. Lol. I have a ton of Zach because since he is on his mission, I am managing his photos to create a mission phonebook at the end, so I get his photos. Everyone else? Josh is around the most, so I try to snap as many as I can. The others are all hit and miss. Reggie seems to be the star and his cuteness is documented more.

Lastly, I notice, there are a lot more of Rob and me as a couple – since we get to spend a lot more time together on our own! I also have a lot more of just me since I need photos for our coaching social media – and that has been kind of fun too! (will do a separate post of those photos though!)

All that to say that life is marching forward. Sometimes it is bittersweet. But I guess all the time it is 50/50, right? You just can’t fight it.

  • Reggie love
  • Relaxed dude
  • Chickens!
  • Conference
  • Conference
  • Conference
  • Josh
  • Both boys played against each other – both #6
  • Sam
  • Brownies from a friend:)
  • First day of school – the family room is not going to work!
  • Gucci
  • Heading out
  • Video chats
  • Seminary- lol
  • Sam giving a talk for YLC
  • Work time

A whole slew of Zach mission photos:

  • Potatoes in Alberta?
  • He loves his mail
  • P-days
  • A sweet gift he gave to a member
  • More ties for his bday
  • Baptism
  • Mission birthday wishes
  • P-day
  • His favourite:pins (and ties)
  • Zone Conference
  • HIs district
  • P-day
  • Soup kitchen volunteering
  • Pday
  • Fiore
  • Raspberry bush
  • Mission tag
  • Video calls
  • Celebrating 1 year
  • Post he put on facebook
  • Hockey
  • Dog bite
  • Zone conference
  • Speaking at a baptism and we zoomed in
  • One year shirt burning
  • Facebook lIve videos
  • Concerts at Withrow park!
  • Zandra filming Reggie
  • Finally celebrated our Anniversary
  • Pumping gas
  • Caught me sleeping on my office floor
  • Zandra missing Reggie

Rob and I took a few weekend trips – here are some snaps of the getaways!

  • Pinery National Park
  • Butterflies everywhere
  • Waiting for me:)
  • Driving
  • Prince Edward County
  • Sandbanks
  • Sandbanks
  • Prince Edward County
  • Beach time
  • Beach time
  • More beach time
  • Amazing Sunsets

  • Zandra headed to Kingston for the semester
  • Loving her new home
  • Back yard fires
  • Reg love
  • Scary storms
  • Video chats
  • Video chats with Reg
  • Long walks
  • Biking Prep
  • Summer heading to work!
  • The new Danforth look!
  • Shops at Don Mills
  • Read to leave
  • We aren’t even with him, he just headed out there!
  • Nap time
  • Church
  • Picnic
  • FaceTime with Gabe

Rob and Sam went to Hamilton to the Air museum

Josh summer fun; a few weekend trips to cottages, canoe trips with his bubble

  • More beaching
  • Reminders
  • Reminders on a low day
  • Lots of these on my phone
  • Sam downtown
  • Dinner
  • When will we ever see them again?
  • Summer nights
  • Sundays and Wednesdays

Of course there are lots more… but this is a good sample:)

    First Day of School

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    Well needless to say, school this year is different.

    Josh starting his last year of high school, grade 12 and Sam starting grade 10. Not how we pictured it.

    The school plan this year is to do quadmesters – so two classes per quad. It’s a big change for our guys who have always done the full year school – not even semestered. So the pace and speed is so different.

    And let’s not forget how interesting the schedule is: they go to school alternating days… kind of. School is broken down into day 1 though 4. You go to in school class in the mornings on 2 of those days. The other mornings you are doing the same class but by yourself at home (aka sleeping in). In the afternoons you have virtual class at home for 1.25 hours. Josh goes to school on days 1 and 4 and is home days 2 and 3; virtual in the afternoon. he is taking English and Math. Sam is at school days 1 and 3 and home days 2 and 4; virtual in the afternoon. He is taking Civics/careers and History. Courses were randomly selected for them so they had no choice on which courses to take. It is hard to keep track of who is doing what. Thank goodness for only having 2 kids home.

    We shall see how it all plays out! The boys seem to be rolling with it. They will never forget this year I’m sure!

    Regardless, I still had to squeeze in some school shots. Because their schedules are all over the place, we had to improvise so we couldn’t do our “family” photo. But here are the most important ones:)

    Josh, grade 12

    Sam, grade 10

    Here’s to an awesome school year!!

    Quote of the Week

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    “What you feed, grows.”

    Such a simple quote. But pretty profound.

    Do you sometimes get surprised with the result that you get? I know I do.

    I see my children do.

    I remember having a conversation with one of my kids who was surprised at a direction life was heading and I remember saying: what are you surprised by? You bought the ticket to that destination. If you wanted a different destination, you needed to buy a different ticket.

    If you want to grow “something”, you need to water and nourish that “something”.

    You can’t be busy watering and nourishing something else and be surprised when THAT grows.

    I have two little boys left at home.

    I know. Not so little.

    15 and 17.5.

    But today we talked with them about where they invest their time, their energy, their efforts. It does make a difference.

    I’m not sure they got it. Or really cared, to be honest.

    But I know they will figure it out.

    Because it is inevitable.

    What you feed, grows.

    My travel companions

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    I have been writing a lot less on this blog only because my time has been consumed with writing for my social media sites as well as the blog for my coaching practice (which you can find here).

    But I still want to keep up with writing a bit here, since this is primarily for my family and for me personally.

    I heard a story the other day that really struck me. Then I talked about it all at length with my coach. (If you have never had a coach, then you should really try it out! It is really life changing to work consistently with someone with a future focus on your life! And not just a one off session, but to really commit to a chunk of time to work on some goals. I am such a firm believer now, and even Rob has bought into it after seeing some results working with a coach!)

    Anyhow, she painted the picture of imagining yourself walking along a path, heading towards the future that you are dreaming of. And not just dreaming of, but actively walking towards. Sure, you may not be exactly 100% certain of what lies ahead, or how you are going to make all these dreams come to pass – but you know the direction you want to go in and you are just taking one step at a time, keeping your eye on the final destination. All of a sudden, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around and the person says to you, “Actually you can’t go that way. You’ve never been this far before. You are heading into uncharted territory. It is unfamiliar. You don’t know the exact path. You need to turn around and come back here”.

    A bit baffled, you ask this person, “Well is there something wrong with where I’m going? Is there confirmed danger up ahead? Is there something you know that I don’t?”

    “Well, no”, they respond, “it’s just that you have never been this way before. So it is unknown. You may not be able to do it. It may just be better to come back here with me to a place that is more certain”.

    You now have to make the choice.

    Do you forge ahead and keep going on this path that you believe will take you to your new destination, or do you turn back and go back with this person?

    What would you do?

    That really got me thinking.

    The person tapping me on my shoulder is “past me”. “Past me” is scared that I am venturing into new paths. She wants me to stay in the safe zone. To keep doing the same things. To stay with what is familiar.

    “Past me” feels it is her job to keep catching up to me and tap me on the shoulder and tell me to come back. She is coming from a place of love and concern. But she is also coming from a place of insecurity, and desire for comfort and ease and familiarity. She may mask that she is all knowing and KNOWS that there is danger up ahead – but she doesn’t. All she knows is the past.

    Up ahead is “future me”. And believe it or not, “future me” is just as concerned about me as “past me”. She too wants to have my back, protect me and keep me safe. But she also wants me to grow, to push myself and become who she knows I am capable of becoming – because she is that version of me! She has been all the “me’s” before, she knows that there are pitfalls along the path I am on, and she knows that I am able to overcome them. She is calling for me to trust her and to consistently take a step forward.

    I turn to “past me” and thank her. Thank her for her concern, for her love, for her experiences and wisdom. I thank her for looking out for me. I thank her for always having my back, for sticking with me through some tough times, and for allowing me to have the experiences that I needed to have to get where I am.

    But, I do not want to to be pulled back by her. I do not need to stay back with her. She has great value and I love her. But I am ready to let her go.

    Unless, she wants to come along with us. She is welcome to become a travel companion as we move into the future. She may not want to bring everything with her. She can leave some stuff behind. She may lighten her load, and empty out a part of her suitcase to leave new room for new things we are going to collect. So many souvenirs to collect along the way!

    She can give some wisdom along the way too, but she has to work it out with “future me”. “Future me” is my guide now and will be in the driver’s seat. I trust that “future me” will take us along the best path, which inevitably will include some bumps along the way, to the our new destination.

    I can’t wait to get there, More importantly, I can’t wait for the journey along the way. I am travelling with the best companions.

    Quote(s) of the Week

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    It’s funny, we are working from home a lot more, and have less kids around so you would think that it would be easier to keep up with things. But not so!

    We have been trying to keep up with family home evening, and we do our “church” every Sunday, but life is busy – different routines, different challenges. Josh and Zandra are both working, and then at night all the kids are often busy with their own plans. Rob and I have been super busy work wise, but we have been trying to take time to just sit in the backyard, have picnics in the park and go on tons of walks. It’s a different time of life for sure, but there are some things that are great about it too!

    We have had a couple of good quotes for our quote of the week(s):

    “Accept what is, let go of what was, and have Fatih in what will be“.

    Could there be a more perfect quote for these times? So much unknown in the future, but all we can do is keep moving forward with faith that the path IS ahead.

    And moving requires action – which ties nicely into another quote we had: “God can not steer a parked car”. We have to be doing, moving, acting. Having faith is one thing, but faith without works falls flat. So just keep going.

    xoxo

    H

    Happy Birthday Zach!

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    Nineteen years ago this guy was born and there hasn’t been a birthday since that I have not spent with him.

    And last year, I fully anticipated that he would be in Tahiti, coming up on his year mark for his mission. I knew I’d be saying, “Happy Birthday, Elder Fiore!”

    But this year has not turned out like we expected (or anyone expected in 2020, but I’m also talking about some individual trials Zach experienced). Who would have expected that Tahiti would have brought with it some unique trials; ones that would stretch, push and pull Zach in every direction. Then the challenge and stress of getting home amidst COVID, and the unique reset months of quarantine at home, only to head back out again to serve in the Calgary, Canada mission.

    Yes, since Zach’s last birthday , I think he has grown more than the expected year. But it makes it that much easier to share with you the 10 things I love most about this Birthday guy:

    • His resilience. His ability to fight; to claw his way through challenges and to hang on through some pretty hard times. I admire the strength he has , the attitude he created and his ability to pick himself up time and time again.
    • His willingness to do hard work. He is driven and he is not afraid to pick hard and go for it.
    • His faith. His faith has grown so much. But at times, even when it was a tiny flicker of light, he held on to it.
    • His vulnerability. He has been so open about his challenges – not only with us, but with his friends, and all the people he meets. He is not afraid to show this vulnerability and reach out to those who are also more vulnerable. He has allowed himself to be humbled, and to develop more compassion and empathy.
    • His sense of humour. He makes us all laugh – whether it be with his funny stories, or his crazy ideas. He can be sarcastic, lighthearted, super cheap (which we all find so funny) or downright silly. He is a lot of fun to be around.
    • His gift of the gab. He is realizing how much he loves to talk – and how much he needs to talk! (I could have told him that years ago, lol). He has a lot to say! He loves to give advice, and to share his opinion. But, he is a great listener too – he asks questions, he is curious, and he gives advice because many come to him to seek his advice.
    • His sportiness. He enjoys playing and watching all sports. He is passionate about some more than others – but he loves to get in there and give it his all no matter what!
    • His sensitivity and thoughtfulness. He is in tune – with himself and with others. He picks up on how people feel and he reaches out to them. He will do the little things for people – and realizes that little things make a difference.
    • His willingness to serve. His mission has been tough, but his love of service keeps him going. He is committed and loves to help others. It’s his favourite thing to do. He loves making a difference for someone, or seeing joy that someone can get from a small thing he does. He loves to share the Gospel as that has brought him joy, but he is just as happy serving in a soup kitchen, helping someone clean their yard (except ours, haha), or visiting with someone who is lonely.
    • His smarts and wisdom. He is curious , and wants to learn. He studies hard, asks lots of questions, listened intently, and tries to make sense of things. If he doesn’t know, he is keen to find out. He is not afraid to say when he doesn’t know, and he is always willing to learn by asking and talking.

    I could go on and on. These represent a few of the many things I love about Zach. He is an all around great guy and I couldn’t be happier and prouder to be his Mom.

    I will miss him on his birthday – but I’m sure this is first of many – so I better get used to it, lol! Watching your kids grow is so so bittersweet! I wish him a year filled with adventure, love, good health, sunshine, laughter and all good things. I know reality will bring some challenges too but I know he can do hard things, or as he said in his recent group email home “we” can do hard things (him and his Saviour – and I will throw our support into that we too as we will always be there for him).

    Happy Birthday My Boy!

    All my love,

    Mom

    xoxox

    Happy Birthday Sam!

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    Birthday month continues around here!

    It’s time to celebrate Sam turning 15!!! Holy !!! 15!!! Crazy.

    Not sure how he went from being that toddler in diapers when I met him to THIS awesome guy!

    Sam may be the youngest, but he’s got a lot of wisdom.

    He has wisely learned from his older siblings what to do and not do (well, sometimes at least).

    Here are 15 things we love about Sam:

    • He has a great smile and is often smiling! He can be a grumpy teen but for the most part is a pretty jovial guy!
    • He has a lot of interests and passions – including cars, music, F1, models, planes, skateboarding. He develops new ones every day! He loves to explore new passions.
    • I’ve heard he’s become quite the little skateboarder. We laughed the other night when he came home with his shirt unbuttoned – opened up to his bare chest underneath – a true skater
    • He loves his own unique music – which is a lot of old stuff. And he is really into records! He walks around listening to music all the time!
    • He is entertaining – he can tell a good story! He can be pretty funny and fun too!
    • He enjoys food and is the least picky eater that we have!
    • He is a great little brother. He gets along with everyone, he loves learning from his older siblings, and is supportive of them in everything
    • He is very appreciative – he is filled with gratitude and it’s so refreshing!
    • He is a helper. He will help when asked – and even when not asked. He is considerate that way.
    • He is curious – he likes learning new things and looking stuff up (just like his dad)!
    • He is very social. He also has the gift to talk to people and make people feel comfortable. It can get him in trouble at school, but in life, it is a huge asset!
    • He is a good sportsman – soccer, rugby, biking , even weight lifting. He is athletic naturally.
    • He is kind and caring. He has a big heart and that shines through.
    • He is energetic and enthusiastic. Although being a teen means a lot of sitting around on the couch rewatching “How I Met Your Mother” – he still can manage some enthusiasm for many things.
    • His smartness – it’s in there… lol. It’s hiding a bit now in high school when his social life is flourishing, but he is intelligent and capable and hard working – “just needs to apply himself” (Ha – famous last words! ) But, he really truly is a smarty

    He is an all around special guy and a joy to have around! We love him so much ! Happy Birthday Sam!!

    xoxo

    Happy Birthday Gabe

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    Another year has flown by and we now have a child fully in their 20’s!

    It’s incredible watching your kids grow and seeing who they become! We couldn’t be prouder of Gabe and everything he is, and is doing, becoming and working on!

    The only downfall is we MISS him!!!! We saw him at the end of last summer, but with his green card wait times, and now COVID slowing everything down it will be a a while before we see him again – and that is hard:(

    Luckily we have FaceTime, Zoom and texting in general to keep us all together. And connectivity is really in your heart and your mind – so even though is has been a while for hug – we still feel like we “see” him all the time!

    Good thing we “see” him all the time, as we love spending time with him! Here are 10 things we love about Gabe:

    • His sense of humour. He always makes us all laugh! He can tell a good joke and weave a good story. When you are around him you are laughing all the time!
    • He is a great brother. This year he has really supported his little brothers – making sure to be available for calls, emails, and messages. He’s not afraid to show his love and care.
    • His hard work . I’ll be honest (and he won’t mind)… he was a bit of a disaster with his early academics. Then something clicked and he just GOT it. He is a work machine now. He is focused and driven and so hard working. He has learned that he always had it in him and he can do anything he sets his mind to!
    • His knowledge. He is a mini Rob and that is a HUGE compliment:) He can talk about anything (and the two of them do!) He is a random fact machine, and enjoys diving deep into subjects.
    • His passion for cars, airplanes, and F1. It keeps him busy and entertained. He doesn’t do things half heartedly. If he’s passionate about it, he’s all in.
    • His gratitude – he is always appreciative of all things and people.
    • His loyalty and commitment: He has your back. He will stand by your side. He won’t leave you in time that are difficult. He’s like his Dad like that:)
    • His love and care: We see it as our son, and we watch him as a husband. He loves deeply and knows his priorities. He is considerate of others and is willing to step up and take responsibility for his actions. He is generous and kind. Just an overall really really good guy.
    • His spiritual insights : we have seen over the years Gabe grow so much spiritually. We have watched him learn and grow and make choices that serve him and his family. He is open to debate, but humble to listen as well. His spirituality shines through in his countenance.
    • His socialness: This was the first thing I ever noticed about Gabe – he could talk to anyone, put anyone at ease and was genuine when he converses. He seeks to learn from everyone he meets and has a talent at making people feel loved and important. You feel good after spending time with him. That is a very special gift.

    Happy Birthday amazing boy! Maybe we will see live you at some point in 2020 ! Love that no matter where you are though – you are always with us. Love you!!

    xoxo

    Monthly Snaps of Life

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    I’ve documented some of the bigger things the past few months (most hav their own post so I only show a couple pics here or end up skipping it since it has its own post!), but thought I’d document some of the little in between moments (from start of COVID mid March to July 1).

    Whenever anyone in our gang is travelling, Gabe tracks their flight. Trying to get Josh home from Botswana (he was there with his Dad) when lockdown started due to COVID was non small feat. Gabe kept sending updates as to where his flight was:

    Mix pictures: Lots of Reggie photos; fruit loops are my stress eating food (waiting for Josh to come home); Zach still in Tahiti – wondering when he’d be home; home church; what happens when Sam is left alone for the night – the pizza boxes overflow the recycling.

    Lots of sleeping during quartantine waiting for everyone to come home:

    Josh finally gets home and he spend the next 14 days like this (playing video games and hanging with Reggie:

    Have to admit, I love family church (my mom and sister usually join too):

    And Zach’s home:

    Quarantine adventures (he can do the rubics cube in minutes!):

    Quarantine visits from friends – bringing Tim Horton’s donuts:

    First meal all together – schwarma poutine (Start of another 14 day quarantine too lol):

    General Conference:

    Lots of games:

    And lots of naps:)

    Many family meals:

    Studying and school:

    He’s never had so much attention; it is exhausting:

    Press on tattoos :

    Brunch:

    Family walk in the Brickworks when finally our of isolation:

    Bigger family zoom call to hear about Zach’s mission:

    Rachael arrives and they have lots of catching up:

    Our dishwasher was running constantly; the kids like to bug me by colour coordinating the cups (I like them mixed for some reason):

    They decided to shave heads!

    Zach gave a talk for our church’s zoom devotional:

    Reggie love and more family church:

    One of our many walks:

    My birthday:

    Someone does this a lot:

    Another Sunday walk – we tried to go to different places to walk every Sunday:

    Waiting for mission reassigment:

    Pretty girl dyed her hair and celebrated her bday:


    Mother’s Day:

    Rachael spent a good chunk of time with us and celebrated her birthday here. They did a lot for things while she as here:

    Another Sunday walk:

    We ordered pizza one night at midnight:

    Beach walk:

    Picnic at the beach one night ( it was chilly!)

    Josh’s appendix adventure:

    Welcome home treats from friends and welcome hugs:

    Keeping busy before their reassignments for their missions:

    Another Sunday walk to Edwards gardens:

    Tennis time:

    Sushi on the beach:

    Family church again!

    Sunday walk to Distillery:

    Dentist appointment:

    Final picnic (celebrating Rob’s bday):

    Final Dairy Queen:

    Goodbyes are never easy:

    Zach arrives in Calgary and is assigned to Lethbridge

    Many beach and park picnics:

    The best rainbow and Sunday walk to the Riverdale park with the best city view:

    Expert interview at a brain injury summit:

    Celebrating 12 years – picnic at Edward Gardens:

    Daily routine: biking:

    Canada Day

    Mission Part 2

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    This has to be the strangest mission!

    After arriving home on March 30 from Tahiti due to Covid, Zach quickly adapted to being “Zach” again!

    I have to say, it was kind of nice having everyone quarantined together for so long. Lots of good family time, and we got used to having everyone around again.

    Zach was pretty apprehensive about heading back out on a mission, but he accepted his call to be temporarily reassigned to the Canada Calgary mission.

    He was supposed to leave May 26th, but as mentioned in a previous post, Josh decided to have an ruptured appendix and so we delayed Zach’s departure.

    He was reassigned to leave June 17th.

    We got to have one more family church (this has been such a special part of quarantine times):

    It was nice we were able to celebrate Rob’s birthday first too before Zach left.

    But the day snuck up and he was ready to head off again. We had some tears the night before (we are criers)

    It was a very very tough goodbye.

    When you first set out on a mission, there is a lot of unknown. And you can idealize how it will be.

    When you head back out you know how hard it is – to be away from family, and to work, learn, serve, live with companions and follow mission rules. It’s not a vacation – as Zach found out. There was a part of Zach that really wanted to get back out, and a part that really wanted to just stay home.

    And so early on the 17th , we took him to the airport. His dad and girlfriend met us there:

    Everyone said their goodbyes:

    It was super sunny. And the picture of Rob and I with him turned out terribly bcs of the sun (so bad I couldn’t even include it, lol). The sun was hard on the eyes as you can see, lol:

    We couldn’t go in the airport with him due to the rules, but they let us walk him to the door:

    We facetimed while he waited for his flight:

    Then of course I tracked the flight:

    He did some documenting too:

    We heard from him when he arrived and got to “meet” his mission president over FaceTime too. So, so, so nice and kind and loving. This is the announcement they made on their missionary facebook page:

    The first night, not gonna lie, was rough. It was P day for Zach so we were able to communicate with him. He was homesick and worried that the anxiety monster would rear his ugly head. But he said it was beautiful, everyone was kind and he liked his companion. All great things.

    He got to check out his first area, 2 hours south of Calgary – Lethbridge and took a bunch of pictures of this amazing bridge!

    We spoke with him again on Father’s Day and were relieved that things were going really well. He was adjusting well and was feeling good about being back out and was enjoying all the service he was able to render so far.

    Excited to hear the stories of this part of his adventure!