In the midst of holiday travel planning and getting excited about our next adventure as a family.

I’m off to Vancouver next week on a solo mission to pass my Canadian Citizenship Test. My first 2 nights away from the family since we had Stella. Justin has some back-up day support but will be on his own at night…wish him luck!

It was the house Justin and I started a family in.  I labored with both Stella and Sebby here and brought them both home here.  We launched and ran a new business here.  We’ve hosted Christmas and numerous other parties and celebrations.  And enjoyed many a night on our roof deck soaking in the views and fresh air.  It’s been a great house.

If only we could have added one more bedroom on the 3rd floor it would have been a house to stay in for  a while.

But it’s time to move on.  And move on we will.  We are going on another “adventure.”

The itinerary is too long to really explain here but I can assure you that I’ll have a lot to blog about over the next 6 months or so. And this time it will be with a new baby and toddler…we are going to have our hands full to say the least.

I’ve blogged about this quote before.

At a point in my life it had a different meaning.  It was more of, “live life, have fun, do something spontaneous.”  I have always been a planner so this quote always reminded me that life is going on even when you are planning so enjoy it.

But now that I have children I think this quote has taken on an entirely different meaning to me.  It’s the little times when I’m running around cleaning the kitchen after dinner and planning for the next day when Stella says, “Mommy, come sit on the couch.”   She just wants me to sit with her and snuggle.

Or when I’m rushing home from the park with Stella and Sebby to get dinner going and Stella is pointing out every dog, flower, bus, car, etc.  I stop and let her smell the flowers, pet the dog and tell me the color of the car she sees.

I guess I’m really thinking about this quote a lot lately because Justin and I are trying to make plans for our future.  Big plans, where to move to, stay in Vancouver, buy, rent, go on an extended holiday, so many options, so many conversations.  Sometimes I worry that maybe we are not just living.  We are always planning.  That one day I’ll turn around after plucking away on my computer finding the next great house or sending out an email to another realtor  that Sebby is 4 and almost ready for school and Stella is 6.

Will I have missed something because we are always planning our next “move?”

Hopefully this concious awareness will serve me well during the chaos better known as our lives right now.

Today I Lived life.

I helped Stella feed the ducks and ran screaming away from the pigeons as they swooped in to grab our bread.  Later Stella snuggled up beside me on a bench for a snack and we watched the ducks go by and Sebby chew his teething ring.

Earlier in the day Sebby and I just played on the bed and he giggled and squealed with delight.

Hopefully I can take time like this every day.

The boxes can be packed another day, take-out is OK, emails can be returned tomorrow and a little dust on the floor will be there when I wake-up…