THROWBACK THURSDAY - CAMPING MEMORIES! * added a picture*

I'm going to try doing a throwback post. I was inspired when I read fellow blogger Gina's post about camping.

We don't do a lot of camping, but in the past tried to go twice during the summer. When our kids were younger and doing paper routes, we used to go camping to Stanley Park, which is only about 15 miles (guessing) from us. Not too exotic I know, but it was good for us. We'd try to camp during the week so it would be quiet at Stanley, but also because we'd head back home in the morning to get the papers done, pick up some fresh food, grab a quick shower and be back camping by lunch - it was great!! Most times we'd be the only people in the park and had a blast hiking and having water fights by the pump (apparently that's not allowed any more).
One of the best memories we have of those 'good old days' was the fact that because we only had one vehicle and it was NOT a camper, the kids would all bike there, with their dad, and I'd get to drive the vehicle loaded down with all our tents and mega other gear. Occasionally Mike & Renee and their family would join us so their kids would bike as well. We'd have our own little tent village by the time all the tents and the dining shelter were set up - great memory-making stuff!!
The last time we camped together as a family, and with our friends, was two weeks before Stacey's wedding - I think we're due!!!
I had to scan these pictures since they're before our digital camera days...sadly I couldn't find a lot of our earlier pictures.

Stacey, Nat and Warren setting up one of the many tents.

Warren, Nat, Beth, Heather, Stacey & Tim at one of our earlier outings.

Renee finding a quick solution to 'bed head' :)

Hey, that is fun!!!

Dustin helping out with the breakfast cleanup

Heather always found innovative ways to do things!

Les decided he would supervise the cutting from the
comfy reclining chair

These two couldn't wait to give it a try

Stacey & Heather hauling in a BIG one by moonlight.
Go Girls!!!

Fetching some water for Mom - or is he?

What we were all waiting for - a drenching war...
this is where you learn to sprint!

Hmmm - not sure what to call this!

Just Havin' Fun :)

Sorry it's been a while for those of you who like to keep caught up with us on this blog. Got back from BC Friday afternoon and haven't really had time to post since. It was nice to spend a little time with family in both BC and Edmonton, but we sure missed those back home, especially three 'little' people :)
Will try to post some pictures soon...takin' in the Harvest Festival this weekend!
Sara

God Answered Our Prayers...Exciting News!!!

Our littlest granddaughter arrived this afternoon. Bria Marynn surprised us by coming quickly....her mommy was still visiting us at lunch!!! Here are just a few snapshots we managed to get. She was still a little upset about the whole ordeal when we got there....but she sure is a sweetheart!!

Mommy had the special touch

Only 1 1/2 hours old - don't they ALL look amazing!


Papa strikes the best pose w/ Bria!!

Nana enjoying both little bundles


Auntie Alyssa and Rowan got there as quickly as they could :)

Proud Daddy!!

Oh right, the rest of the story... Bria was 8 lbs 2 oz and was 23 inches long! She's almost caught up to her little cousin Selah. We pray you will always be close little buddies :) We love you soooo much!!!

Show Me Your Glory

I don't know why but the words to this song have been playing in my head all day today. So much so that I decided to change our blog title. I have no other words right now....

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor
In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I've ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky
And I know I'll never be the same

Show me Your glory
Send down Your presence
I want to see Your face
Show me Your glory
Majesty shines about You
I can't go on without You, Lord

When I climb down the mountain
And get back to my life
I won't settle for ordinary things
I'm gonna follow You forever
And for all of my days
I won't rest 'til I see You again

Show me Your glory
Show me Your glory
I can't live without You

Lyrics and Music by Mark Lee, Marc Byrd, and Third Day
From the recording: Come Together, Track #3.

Celebrating the little men

Well we got to celebrate two little birthdays yesterday. Gideon turned one on the 14th and our little sunshine, Rowan, turns two today!! How time flies when you're havin' fun, right!!
Here are a few pics from the 'little' party.

Gideon seemed content to just sit in his wagon
until auntie had to snap this picture! Sorry buddy - you're just too cute!!

Rowan had a blast on this tire swing.
Papa first tried to put him on the traditional swing but he wanted
nothing to do with it (inside story here)
Then papa put him in the old tire swing and
he couldn't get enough, "High!"


Madeline just giggled with delight when it was her turn
on the swing and Mac sure seemed to enjoy being able to give her under ducks
I'm not sure who was more excited!


And cake too!!??
This was just the best day, huh Rowan?
Here's wishin' you many many more happy happy days :)

JUST FLYIN' BY....

Does anyone else feel summer's just cruisin' by?!! Makes me sad because it's always WAY too short and I don't feel we've been able to just relax and enjoy it yet. Les took a week of his holidays to work on the church reno project and has spent several evenings there as well. I know he enjoys it and is glad to do the work, but my selfish nature too often kicks in and I must confess I haven't always been a happy camper while he's been away....nope....I've been feeling sorry for myself and haven't always responded the way I should have, especially when I look at our 'not going anywhere' projects. If I could just clone my man!! Ok...I think it's just time for a little R&R.
This weekend was Sonshine Festival in Willmar, Minnesota, which we were so hoping to go to again this year. It's just a great weekend of kickin' back in your lawn chair and listening to as many great christian concerts as you want to take in. The lineup of bands was amazing!! But, with everything going on....yard work....church renos....family visiting....Dad sick....BIL sick...there was just no getting away :( I guess it was good we were home though since the raspberries were ready - I absolutely LOVE raspberries and have so many yummy recipes I can't wait to make. This last year we ran out of raspberry jam and frozen raspberries (for smoothies, etc.) WAY too quickly! So, thank you God for blessing us with a good crop of berries!!!
Dad is in the hospital and is doing better - he's actually glad to be there and isn't demanding to go back home (yet ;) His pain is getting under control now. They didn't cast his leg as it would make caring for him so much more difficult that it already is. The fracture is healing well though and as long as he doesn't try anything silly, should be ok. He was real excited when my sister delivered a new scooter for him to try out while in the hospital. The scooter he has now is just too dangerous and was the cause of his fall and fracture to begin with! (long story)
I finally found some time today to go for a much needed haircut, which I had to reschedule twice already. Came home to find some old friends had dropped by so we spent the next few hours just visiting and catching up on family news. I liked the fact that they felt free to just drop in. We used to do that much more with family and friends, but somehow now we feel like we have to wait for an invitation. Bring back the good times!!!
Ok...quickly....little Selah is two weeks old already and is doing so well....Rowan is going to be turning two this week and my dearest is turning 49 (can't believe that) on Monday!!! So, all those of you who are waiting for an invitation to come by for some cake....DON'T....just stop by if you like :P
Late again! Time for bed.

Broken and Bruised....

Sure would appreciate some prayer for my dad. He hasn't been well for a number of years, struggling with different health issues, I think the most difficult being his diabetes and how it's affecting his legs and feet. Many would find themselves feeling queezy if they had to do his daily dressing changes, as my mom has done for a couple of years (hats off to her!)!! Thankfully he now has a home-care aide who comes and does this every day. Besides the open ulcers on the bottoms of his feet that just don't want to heal, although they have improved greatly from where they were, his legs are swollen and purple and, well, I don't know if I can adequately describe how they look.
We also just found out he has a broken fibula (from when he fell two weeks ago!!) They did take x-rays the morning he fell but for some reason no one was informed (and I'm guessing not even the doc who was attending him). Bad case of falling between the cracks?!!
He also has difficulty breathing with all the heat and humidity and has little strength to cough up all the phlegm that doesn't ease up. Two weeks ago he had some type of episode which we strongly suspect was a mild stroke. Whatever it was he felt it coming on but refused to let us take him back to the hospital. He's just so tired (literally he's exhausted) of being poked and prodded and in pain.
It's sad to watch your parents aging - to see a once-strong-once-proud man reduced to sitting all day in a motorized chair - it's sad when reality says things probably aren't going to get any better - it's sad when unnecessary pain is added to an already hard life - when dignity plays second fiddle to everyday functions - it's sad when our health care system seems insufficient (or maybe inefficient) to help those who find it difficult to help themselves - it's just plain sad!!
So, please pray for this man - for my dad. He'll always be my dad. And definitely add my mom to those prayers as this isn't easy for her to watch and deal with either. She's a much stronger woman than I think I will ever be.

Sara

A special package arrived...

After two sleepless nights for Heather and Bruce, little Selah Rae decided it was finally time to make her entry. She was born at 2:54 this morning weighing 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.
No time for a long post today so we'll just include a few pictures. You can't see her mass of dark hair with the little cap, and her poor little nosey is still squished & bruised, but she's pretty sweet :) She even opened her eyes for a little peek.

She's already loves holding daddy's hand - but I'll bet he'll hold on tighter :)

Take good care of me Mommy & Daddy

Let's Just Keep Busy...

Yes...indeed. Trying to occupy my mind with things other than just thinking about Heather and when this little munshkin will decide to come. I'm glad she is still feeling well and I'm sure we'll get that phone call when we least expect it. This week would be nice though, Heather :)
So nice to have our Manitoba summer weather back!!! It's been crazy with thunderstorms, etc., although our new grass definitely enjoyed the humidity.
I'm taking advantage of this glorious day - the housework can wait! Today I'll be pruning & propogating some shrubs and moving a few things around in the garden....oh yes, and getting at those weeds that thought they were home-free since we haven't been able to get close to them with all the rain. Gotta keep busy...right.
Anyone got a good idea for garden paths? I have a large garden and want to have some winding paths going through it to enjoy all the beautiful plants & flowers. So far the paths are just dirt which makes it tough to enjoy the garden when it rains.
Alright, I better go finish what I started - this day won't be long enough, I can tell ;)
Go outside and enjoy the day :)

Sara

A little breather...maybe?

Feels so good to be done the painting which kept me pretty busy last week. Oh, let me clarify... that is, the painting I was doing for someone else. She actually called this evening to tell me her girls were very happy with the job...yay!! Earlier she wasn't so sure she liked the one feature wall, which she chose to have painted a nice warm brown, so I'm happy I don't have to repaint!

May have a pretty short week at the clinic as well since Herb (x-ray tech) is away for two weeks and couldn't get anyone to cover for him this week. There will be a few x-rays that are outstanding, which may keep me busy for another half day, but other than that I should have some time for myself. Shhhh - don't tell anyone! Hopefully I'll be able to sit down and do some serious thinking about the next step of our renos...being...uhmmm, not quite sure :) I have some projects in mind for outside as well.

Course, all that could change should we suddenly have a new grandbaby (due in a few days). I'm sooo excited! Had the funniest dream last night. Heather had a boy and when I asked her the name she said, Matthew Dididi (dee-dee-dee). Not wanting to hurt her feelings, all I could ask was, "How do you spell that?"! Had a good laugh over that one this morning. Though I really feel she's having a boy, I highly doubt she'll name him Matthew Dididi. LOL

Saturday Les worked hard breaking down the chimney. I felt bad that I wasn't really much help and since Dustin went to the city with some friends, he carried all the rubble out of the basement himself. It got a little hairy when half the chimney broke off and stayed perched at the main floor level. Les had to pry it loose, catching his finger between the prybar and sledge hammer...OUCH!! Right now we have our very own skylight - all the way from the basement!! I guess that'll have to be the next fix-up since we probably shouldn't leave the hole there for too long - never know what kind of company we'll get comin' down the chimney space! I'll try to post a few pictures tomorrow.

Finished off the week with a nice get-together at the Back 40. Always relaxing. Thanks for hosting Glen & Anna. Here are a few pictures.

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Now, off to bed!!!

And It's Only WEDNESDAY

**UPDATE**
Forgot one special little boy on the June Birthday Calendar - Mackenzie turned 6 on the16th!! I hear you had a fun birthday.

~ ~ ~

Sorry to anyone who tried to comment on the last post - for some reason blogger decided not to allow any comments. When I checked the settings they're still all fine so here's hoping it was a fluke.
Been a long week already. I've been busy painting for a lady who called and asked if I would paint her apartment. I've done a lot of painting for others, but this was a first being called by a stranger. I agreed to do the job and spent the first afternoon working by myself. It was a little overwhelming with the many nooks and crannies, etc., to paint around, so I quickly enlisted some help. Aren't most things more enjoyable when shared with a friend?
All day I was thinking of Liane knowing she had a prenatal appointment today. Of course I couldn't call while I was painting (obviously I wasn't working at the clinic today), and then we had Bible Study at our house in the evening, so I rushed home to get supper on and then quickly clean up before everyone arrived. Thankfully Warren and Liane dropped by just as we were sitting down for a snack and I could finally ask her how things went. You can read all about it on their blog. Definitely keep them in your prayers.
So,where has the time gone? Heather is now entering her last week of pregnancy (at least if baby decides to come on time). I get so excited every time I think about our next grandchild arriving in possibly a few days. Can't wait to hold him/her and I wonder how Rowan will react to having a little cousin. Good thing Nana and Papa have lots more hugs to share and plenty more room in our hearts :)

Rowan - 2 days old

Proud Grandpa - who'd have thought
it would be this good?

Oh yes, and it's my Dad's birthday today, but with all the busyness I haven't had time to visit him. He's in the hospital recovering from an acute flare-up of COPD and infections in his leg. Hopefully we'll get to the hospital tomorrow. Happy Birthday Dad - hope you're feeling MUCH better!!
AND MORE BIRTHDAYS....don't want to forget our nieces and nephew - check out Sonja, Melissa and Jordan who all have birthdays this week - talk about celebrating as a family :) Hope you guys have WAY TOO MUCH FUN as a family this week!!! Miss you all. HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO YOU!!!
JUNE is crazy with extended family birthdays - almost as bad as December for our family. To the rest of you, hope you have/had a super day (Austin, Nathan, Tyler, Henry, Madeline, Jolene, Scott, Ken and Desiree) YIKES...that does not include anniversaries!

Little Drummer Boy

*UPDATED*
Discovered recently that "doodeez" means more than just drumsticks. "Doo" is the sound the drums make when he hits them (can't you hear it?) and "dee" is the sound of hitting the cymbals. So, when he's not actually on Dustin's drums and is air-drumming - he says, "doo-doo-dee" - I finally got it!!

If you've recently visited Stacey's blog, she wrote a bit of a tribute to the band Downhere, one our family's favorite bands. When Dustin was little we took him to a Downhere concert when they were starting out....well, he was awestruck! When we asked him whom we should havecome to our home, he said, "the drummer". We were sure he'd say "the guitarist". Well, he got both, to his delight. He never forgot that and is now a pretty fine drummer himself (yes, guitarist too!).
Now Rowan thinks Dustin is the most amazing person because he's a 'drummer'. He used to give hugs when he came in the door to visit; now he gives a big smile and says, "doodeez" (drumsticks) and quickly finds the first person who will take him downstairs to play on Dustin's drums. Nana & papa will do, but if Uncle Dustin takes him down he's in little drummer boy heaven. He's constantly drumming, even when he's at the table! Sound familiar? :)
Here's a little clip of Rowan playing along to some music (BTW it was a Downhere song that he started with, and kept going - just took us a while to get the camera).
Pretty cool for 22 months old!!

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A Memorable Weekend! WARNING - long post!!!

Where to start? Ok..let's go with...
FRIDAY - Les reminded me when he came home from work that we had tickets for the Palliative care fundraising concert that night, which he was now unable to attend since our shingling got re-scheduled to this weekend. I really was tired and tempted to not go, but decided to call Liane to see if she would accompany me. Thankfully she said yes - it was definitely worth the effort. The Dingleberries were the first act. I enjoy listening to their music - they are very talented musicians, for which I have a great appreciation. I can listen to almost anything when I recognize talent. The 2nd act...oh my, if any of you out there have not seen Elvis impersonator Corny Rempel - he is hilarious!!! Besides doing a great job impersonating 'the King', my goodness was he funny!!! At one point he walked into the audience and it didn't take long to realize he was heading towards us (Liane was in the aisle seat :)...and sure enough - he stopped right by Liane and started wooing her. I was laughing so hard and all the while trying to get the camera phone to work. Well, I couldn't figure it out on time and he moved on - would have been fun to capture Liane's look of "please don't stop here...no, not...oy vay!!" We laughed for most of our walk home and I still giggled later as I was drifting off to sleep. Sorry you missed out Les! For those who were there, you'll know why I'm thinking of enrolling in Spanish classes, hehe :)

SATURDAY - Shingling Day
Les was up bright & early banging on the roof, so I got a good start on lunch for the guys. Stacey brought over a yummy rhubarb cake for coffee break. Dustin had some fine tunes blasting from his car stereo, and I got to play with Rowan in between preparing food (which the girls helped with...thanks so much). Thanks big time to Glen, Warren, Bruce, Keith, Mike and Dustin for their hard work. Here are a few photos of the fun.After shingling Les and I went to participate in the Palliative Care Sunset Hike. Les volunteered to BBQ for all the walkers and afterwards we 'hiked' through the Parkland area. We were given a bag and a candle as we registered, to create a luminary to light and carry as we walked (they actually had a craft table set up with markers, paper, glue, etc). I hadn't expected that... but as I sat down to create this 'memory' luminary I was overcome reflecting on what Mom T. meant and I just sat there for a long time thinking of her. I do hope this event catches on in the years to come as I think it was very special. Anyways, here's my luminary...was the best I could do without forethought.

SUNDAY - Mother's Day - Happy...and Sad!
After Church Les and Dustin made lunch - Les wanted to go out but I just wanted to be at home. For some reason I was feeling kinda down (don't know why but Mother's Day often makes me reflect on how I wish I had done some things different) and so when Les went for a little nap I went to visit my mom, whom I'm so thankful to still have around. I couldn't help but think, sadly, of how busy my life is and how little time I spend with my mom, and how I wish my mother-in-law were still here. I know we can't turn back the clock, but some days I long for just that one wish. Anyway, I was glad to find Mom sitting alone on her porch swing reading a book, which she loves to do :) We had a nice long visit, just she and I, which was very special. I pray God will give me more times like these.
I headed home about 5:20 where a wonderful supper was waiting for me...this was my special gift from my girls. They schemed to make me supper since I told them they weren't supposed to buy me anything...they didn't really listen, did they!? Well, it was soooo delicious - enchiladas, herbed rice, nachos & salsa, yummy salad and something chocolate for dessert - does it get any better? Oh yes...it does...the guys did all the clean-up :) I AM SOOO BLESSED!
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)

Sara

All the Goings On

Lots been happening, other than renos :) Don't worry, we'll get to that soon.

It's kinda nice to have a big empty room for Rowan to play - for now.

Heather has been over a lot lately trying to get her diapers done. She's pretty good on the old pedal too! I wouldn't have thought she would be the one to enjoy sewing so much. Wish I had a picture of the rag quilts she's made - amazing! Those are some fancy diapers Heath!


It was nice to have Keith's family out for the weekend. They all came over on Saturday for Keith's birthday. Enjoyed a BBQ even though it was raining outside. Happy 24th Keith!!!


Rowan and his little buddy Ashton arriving for Uncle Keith's birthday.


He loves his auntie & uncle "Booce" (among others)


Warren and Liane came for supper on Friday (another rainy day)....we were highly entertained by Dad showing Liane how he makes paper airplanes (that fly :). She started it!

Look at the detail on Liane's wings.


And now for the test flight...I won't say who won :)