GUESS WHO'S ONE TODAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SELAH!!

Can't wait to see

who God shapes you to be..

..keep Smilin' Sweetie!!

Love,
Nana & Papa

be back soon

Sorry it's been so long....there's just been so much going on in our home lately, I haven't even known where to begin in blogging.

Hope to be back at it soon

Oh the Joys of Spring!

So, what is it about springtime that has me wanting to purge..

I mean PURGE, every storage space in my house
On Saturday I had just had enough of not being able to see
the floor in our bedroom closet, or the top of the night table...
SO, I took everything that was on the floor and dresser,
and let it know it was no longer welcome in my bedroom
(it found the hallway floor)
that way it had to be dealt with and not just put back.

Now, I know I should have purged much more, and I will - TODAY :)
Maybe I'll take a picture, if I'm not too embarassed.
Problem is, there are so many little places like that in my house,
the pantry, spare bedrooms, cupboards...even the bathroom.

I even got Dustin in on the fun and he brought a bag full out of his room
just between us...that was only the tip of the iceberg!!


Why do we/I think we have to keep everything?
So many of those 'things' were left sitting in a corner or on a shelf
for months, ok, maybe even years...unnoticed!
You'd think it would be easy to get rid of them....not so!
You know the thinking.."but, I might need that" OR "so-'n-so gave that to me"

SO, today will be stage two...
and I will show no mercy!
There is no storage room in my house - so out they go!

Wish me luck...that I won't give in...I NEED to do this! :)

Now...WHO CAN I HIRE?

Only the results were 'good'

The most important day in a believer's life
is the day we remember what our
Saviour did on the cross for us

I'm so thankful for what He did...
unselfishly...
unwaveringly...
unconditionally...
with his eyes on His creation...
"It is finished!"

"But God demonstrates His own
love towards us,
in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Much more then,
having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
Romans 5:8,9

Wicked week!

I hope not too many of you have been hit with this crazy flu bug that's going around. So far several of our family members have had one form of it or another...cold symptoms, fever, aches, laryngitis, back pain, neck pain...not fun!! Even some of the little ones fell prey.

I've got a big pot of chicken noodle soup on and looks like it may not go far enough.

I had planned to get lots done today ~ I guess there's always next week....seems like I've been having to say that for one reason or another for a while now. Les' back is just not good and of course his arm is still painful from the fall he took a couple of weeks ago. We're supposed to be cleaning the church today as well. I guess I should be happy just feeling better than most of my family!

Good news though, it looks like our plumbing fixtures are on their way so hopefully we can have our bathroom back in the next few weeks!! Oh right, I just said Les' back and arm aren't good - nevermind. Volunteers anyone?

Blogger Bugs

I find it so frustrating when I go to make a post and

all seems well..
then somewhere between making the post and
returning, pictures go missing!
I'm still figuring out how this all works most of the time,
so for me to 'fix it' takes quite the effort.
The previous post did get fixed but not without me
spending a considerable amount of time trying to do so.

Does anyone else have these issues or am I that blogger-challenged?!

Just the two of us...

My favourite little man came to visit last night

as mommy and daddy took the Youth to a concert

We didn't have time for all the fun things we wanted to do


We started with baking cookies. I couldn't believe how well he
managed with the tools!

He reminded me part way through that
we had forgotten 'our' hair nets!


Soon we could enjoy some milk & cookies


Mmmmm - double chocolate oatmeal

then... we settled in for a short movie (Booples),
and a game of marbles
(which consisted of separating them into colours
and then placing them back in the bag)

then...he requested his favorite little video of
"that little girl"



...before we knew it...
mommy was at the door and it was time to go (drat!)

...all is still well
'til next time buddy!!

Giving Entertainment

I promised Heather I'd give her a hand with some advertising..

The group Bruce has been involved with, Candlewick Productions, is putting on their own rendition of M*A*S*H. Should be funny! Did any of you out there watch this show? I know, it dates me, but that's ok :) One could not possibly forget the antics of Klinger - always trying to come up with a new reason why they should let him out of the army...

Personally, I liked Captain McIntyre... haha, enough said...

Ok...show dates are this Friday and Saturday and tickets are available at Thornview in Morden.

The best part, you get entertained and the proceeds go to help children in Uganda. Candlewick is teaming up with Heartstrings to build a much needed clinic in Uganda, Africa...sounds like a good occasion to go out this weekend!

So, maybe we'll see you there!

Just Day Dreamin'

Did you know daydreaming is good for you?
Now, of course you wanna be choosy about when and where,
but what a way to relax. . .(might help the next time you're in the dentist's chair)

Go ahead try it - think about that place where you feel happy, and peaceful. . .
imagine yourself there, with all the sights, sounds and smells

I'm dreamin' of when...

I can sit out in my garden again...
and enjoy God's marvelous handiwork

of when...
the garden path will actually lead us to
all those yummy things
... just waiting to be appreciated

when...
the colours and smells of spring come alive
and we feel the sun's warmth blanket us, once again!

yes, I'm daydreamin'...

of sharing some long-awaited warmer days
with some very precious little people...
some of whom will be discovering the 'feel' of summer for the first time!

Oh I can't wait
... but I guess I'll have to!
once again, Lord, I'll make it through... once again
...by your grace


Thank you for that hope today!!!

MATTHEW UPDATE

Some of you have been asking how little Matthew has been doing since the terrible burns he suffered a few weeks ago. Here's the latest from his auntie...
Matthew did have to undergo surgery again unfortunately, however, the doctors say the second grafts went much better than the first time and are healing beautifully! PTL!!! Continue to keep him in your prayers. Tomorrow he gets the staples out which may not be a whole lot of fun either.
Otherwise, the burns on the rest of his body (which they didn't graft) are healing well and some of those bandages have now been taken off. If all goes well tomorrow, he may be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days, but will still need to remain close to the hospital until probably next week.
So, continue to keep his mom, dad & baby sister in your prayers too. It's not easy for them being away from home all this time.
On another positive note, they're taking Matthew off his morphine (for 6 hours at a time) and, other than being a little restless, he's doing quite well with that.
So keep those prayers going up on behalf of this family...and don't forget to thank Him for all those things, both great and small, that we take for granted every day.

Added recipe

As promised, albeit rather late, I have finally added the recipe for the pretzels (on the sidebar under "In the kitchen"). So, if you enjoy the recipe or have variation suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

Also, somewhere in the near future I'm going to be doing my own giveaway, some Pampered Chef - so we'll see who actually reads this blog. It's time to come out of the woodwork and make yourself known. I really would love to know who you are. Not too scary really, and who knows, you might win something. So....KEEP WATCHING! Once I SEE that I have a few people interested, I'll reveal what Pampered Chef product I'll be giving away. Since I'm a consultant, it could be just about anything. Suggestions?

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!!!

Well, today I'm hoping for many readers even though I haven't been keeping up with this blogging thing very well lately! PLEASE READ ON...

There's a two year old boy, his name is Matthew, who was severely burned a week ago. Matthew was visiting with his mommy at grandma's house where grandma and mommy were making some spaghetti sauce. Matthew, in his little two-year-old mind decided he wanted to help stir the sauce and so when they weren't looking he somehow managed to get to the stove and pull the entire pot of spaghetti sauce down onto his little body.
Matthew is in Winnipeg and had his first surgery on Thursday for skin grafting. Imagine what that must be like....I can't!! Just having a two-year-old grandson myself, my heart is just overwhelmed and breaking for this family.

SO, whatever you're doing....STOP, yes.. right now....and send up your prayers for this little boy and his family. Pray that his body would heal miraculously that he wouldn't need more painful surgeries. Pray that the skin grafting he just received will take, and heal beyond all expectation. Then there's the burden of the expenses this family will be facing since this is the second time in a short while that they will have an ambulance bill coming in the mail, not to mention taking time off work and having to stay and eat away from home in order to be by his side. You see, just weeks before this Matthew's mom went into premature labour and delivered her second child 5-6 weeks early. So, although they've become all too familiar with the hospitals and streets of Winnipeg, their lives are once again disrupted as they eat, sleep and breathe life in critical care.

If you want to help out, there's a donation box set up at a bake sale TODAY at the Southland Mall. Sorry, for those who don't know where I'm talking about, I won't post the details here, but you can send me an email and I'll get you more info. I wish I could have posted this earlier, but only learned of this last night. Thankfully God is not limited by time or any of these details, so send up those prayers!!

Afternoon in the valley...

This afternoon Glen & Anna invited us to join them

at their cabin in the back 40

for some tobogganing and 'fresh air' hiking.
It was a gorgeous day so we figured we were up for it.
Since the cabin isn't accessible by road in the winter,
you have to park on the road and hike in.
Although it was nothing like the first year when we
hiked in snow up to our hips, it was still a good work-out..
(work-out does NOT sufficienty describe what we did)
I think I scared away all the wildlife with my
huffing and puffing...and grunting..
oh, but it felt good....eventually :)

not sure we should go that way dear


it'll be a while before we enjoy sitting at
this table again


the boys in tow back to the top


taking a break...

or stock-piling ammo??!


nice slide Dust (sorry...what is that called?)


ummm...maybe in a few months we'll try this one...
after I'm in shape


our view from the cabin as we enjoyed some
sloppy joes & grilled cheese with the hot iron...
beautiful way to end a wonderful day.

Thanks guys for the invite!!

Memory lapse...

Ok...so I obviously haven't posted enough recipes because after adding a new recipe today I can't remember how to get it to show up on the sidebar.
I'll get it yet, but it's there if you go to the 'kitchen' link from my profile.

Food to warm the soul...

Lately I've been in a slump as far as feeling
like I've accomplished much of anything.

Yesterday was my day off and often I just feel like vegging...
however, this turned out to be an energy-burst kind of day.
Actually... as I was lying in bed contemplating what
the day would look like and thinking how wonderful
it would feel to sleep in,
I suddenly remembered I had made a haircut appointment..
... in 20 mins!
Up I jump and fly into the shower... don't know about you,
but I don't like to leave the house before I'm feeling fresh and clean!!
Funny how quickly I can get ready if I have to!!

While out I managed to get one other thing
checked off my "To Do" list - felt good!
Came home for what I thought would be a short while
before heading out to do a few more errands... and then...
I got the urge...no DESIRE...to make something special for supper.
Now, I don't mind cooking usually, but coming up with the menu is
always the challenge.

I decided on Italian sweet and sour sausage... it's one of our favorites
and I love making it because it's so simple!
Bonus... makes the house smell like you've slaved all day!


This is all you need..
(farmer sausage, Italian-style tomatoes and tomato sauce,
vinegar and brown sugar)

With that taken care of and some extra time on my hands
I decided to try my hand at making... PRETZELS!!
Might not sound like a big deal to you,
but ever since I experienced REAL german pretzels
I've been on the hunt for a good clone.
I think this recipe comes close....and yes, I want to share!

These were absoloutely yummy and the texture
was so close to what I remember...
just need to make them bigger next time!
The three of us ate every last one of them at dinner...
The recipe? it's a keeper and I'll share it in the next couple of days.
What's cookin' at your house??

ever happen to you???

I head to our bathroom to brush the pearlies

open the cabinet door and find this....

my favourite toothpaste :)


SQUEEZED flat!!

well... I figure
I can squeeze some more out of that!!

and I do..


wait a second...
something's wrong with this picture!



my toothbrush isn't green
- it's turquoise!!!
ARGHH!

A whirlwind.......

I know it's been a while but as you can see from the last few posts, not only was our life busy with all things Christmas, we also had birthdays and a birth to celebrate!

A little recap...

Christmas was such a delight now that we could finally see and hold the newest family addition.. Jillian is such a sweetie and we're so grateful she's here! She made it into this world on time to take part in the Baby Dedication service a few days later!

We missed our first Christmas program in 27 years in our church! I must say that it felt a little odd. We had a gathering to go to and since none of our kids were involved in the program this year, we didn't go. Our Youth actually did an entire service the week before Christmas. They did an amazing job and when the entire Youth group went on stage to sing at the end, I had goosebumps! I hope this becomes a new Christmas tradition.

It was interesting to work around feeding schedules and nap times but we did manage to do the traditional Christmas Eve pizza & candlelight and all the little ones were awake when we opened presents. Rowan was especially fun to watch. A little tradition we have is for each person to say what they're thankful for. Even Rowan participated. When asked what makes him happy, he quickly responded, "Selah makes me happy!" He's so sweet with her. I can't wait to watch these little ones growing up together.

In between gatherings we managed to get in a combined birthday party for Warren & Heather. They both enjoy the same kind of food so coming up with a menu was the easy part. What I hadn't planned on was working until almost 4:30 - Yikes!! I rushed home and amazed myself at how quickly I could make 5 dozen vereneke - a record for me for sure :)

What would normally have been a house full of youngsters playing and adults in every room, turned out to be a much smaller event as we got together with my extended family. Some couldn't be there due to other gatherings and others were sick. The flu bug has hit particularly hard this year. I must say, though, it was nice to all be able to fit around the table, although some people will be eating left-overs for a while!

New Years' Eve was spent with friends and family at church, playing games until we welcomed the new year. With so many young families, the closer we got to 2008 the smaller the group became as one-by-one couples bundled up their little sleepy-heads and went home. Had a lot of fun learning some new games - so beware if you come by in the next little while, I'll be pulling out the cards!

Other than that, we've managed to stay fairly healthy considering how many others have been sick over the holidays. Hubby had a bug for a couple of days but he's back to his normal self. I, on the other hand, had to be different - no flu for me...just a nasty sinus headache for over a month now, which seems to be getting more intense instead of better (I am not one to get headaches). Today is sunny and bright and should make me happy, but I'm cowering inside...staying away from the windows.

I'll try to post some pictures soon - haven't had time to download them - OH YES...I got my camera back...except, there was a problem with my S1 so they sent me an S3 to replace it. I'm happy!

Wishing you all many blessings in 2008!!