By Wisdom A House Is Built

Suzanne's birthday

2011-12-18T08:32:00.000-05:00

Suzanne celebrated her 20th birthday on the 16th - with her last exam at college, and then a Thursday evening with our family, and dinner & presents on Friday evening, then a party with friends on Friday. Busy, busy!

The cake that JAMES made!

The evening before - the cake that mom made!

Engagement Celebration

2011-11-06T20:30:00.002-05:00

We had both families together on Saturday to celebrate Andrew & Angela's engagement. We were waiting until Angela's mom had delivered their new baby and until she was back into routine a bit before we had our party - and Saturday was the day. We had a really good time together - with Angela's paternal grandma (her maternal grandparents were not able to make it) as well as Andrew's paternal grandparents. But baby RUTH was there as well as Angela's other siblings and Andrew's friend (and best man!) Jon.

Andrew & Angela have set their wedding date for Friday, July 27, 2012, DV.

Autumn Getaway Pics

2011-10-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

I'll let the pics speak for themselves - we're back from a short autumn getaway in Northern

Ontario, just Andrew & myself and Alyssa ... lots of fishing & relaxing

and all sorts of weather ... and a little taste of the winter to come!

Engaged!

2011-09-19T19:01:00.004-04:00

We are excited with Andrew Peter & Angela's news that they are engaged to be married! Andrew popped the question on Saturday evening and Angela said "yes" ... so the "big day" is hopefully some time in August, 2012.

Also, congratulations to Andrew's neice, Michelle and husband Mark and boys (and grandparents Henry & Mary) on the birth of baby #4 - a GIRL named Amber Mary! That's 12 grandchildren for Henry & Mary - 6 boys and 6 girls.

GOD IS GOOD!

Vacation 2011

2011-08-26T07:52:00.009-04:00

Family news: This past month Andrew & I had two aunts and one uncle pass away: First my Aunt Doris (mom's SIL), then my Uncle Reg (mom's brother) and then Andrew's Tante Anna (Dad's sister). Time is flying by and we're starting to really see that in the passing of older family members.

~~~

Our vacation this year started off with a bang - literally...in the first 1/2 hour of travel, Suzanne rear-ended another vehicle on the QEW and, well, her car didn't fare very well. It was a stressful day for all of us, but thankfully everything turned out well - the girls were both fine as well as the other driver. It could have been much worse. So Suzanne is now learning bus routes and is carless - which means that our van looks much more appealing to her now...

The kids and cousins Shannon & Laura joined us for the weekend - and Andrew's girlfriend, Angela came up on Saturday & Monday and James came up with Angela on Saturday. We had a nice time together! A smaller group from previous years, but still fun!

An "active bear" was in the park - we heard about it but didn't see it (although I did keep my camera ready! ;) ) ... the bear wasn't as pretty as this one here...

It's impossible to really capture the sunset - but I try!

Lots of activity - walking, biking, and canoeing!

My best garage sale "find" of 2011 - a "Novacraft" 16' canoe! http://www.novacraft.com/canoe_tripper16.htm

We really enjoyed it.

Jumping off the rocks - of course!

(Suzanne)

Our little spot in the water...ahhhh.

Canoeing to the sunsets.

My fav pic. It says it all. A well-deserved vacation.

The beach at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park -

a park that I haven't been to since my childhood.

Lots of memories!

My brother, Darren & I used to use these (maybe older ones?) teeter-totters...

over & over...such fun!

Best friends!

Andrew rigged some wheels for taking the canoe to the water.

Worked great!

Andrew caught four fish - and honestly, my camera battery

went dead just prior to him getting the best fish! Ugh.

AND there was a rainbow in the sky.

A perfect end to each day!

Two More Birthdays

2011-08-09T21:54:00.001-04:00

Andrew celebrated his birthday on July 23 and he wanted to go to the beach. So, since the kids were all working, it was just the two of us at the beach and then the kids joined us for dinner & cake in the evening!

I usually don't do much of a celebration for my birthday - after planning & celebrating the three previous birthdays (in 1 month!) I'm ready for quietness on my own birthday - however, I began to think that maybe I should have some friends over to celebrate. Suzanne & Alyssa encouraged me and what started out as "having a few friends over" turned into a "Halfway-t0-Age-90 Birthday Tea Party"!! It was soooooooooo much fun - I'm so glad that the girls encouraged me to do it! I said later that I felt like my "friend-cup" was filled up again! With being so busy over the past year - and quite stressed with mom's care and details there - I'd felt like I'd neglected my friends...so it felt great to reconnect again!

I even made "goodie bags"!!

Alyssa's birthday

2011-07-15T19:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Alyssa turned 17 and she spent the day with her friends, Dina, Melanie & Natasha - and Suzanne -- at the beach! Gorgeous weather & fun times with friends ...

Then a birthday dinner at home with friends and family

Dad's got someone to fish with!

Andrew Peter's birthday

2011-07-03T12:43:00.000-04:00

After spending the day with friends at the beach, they arrived home for a BBQ and birthday cake. The weather was gorgeous!

Canada Day Canoeing

2011-07-01T16:32:00.003-04:00

Happy Canada Day everyone! The weather was gorgeous today so we set out canoeing.

Since Andrew can't lift yet, Andrew Peter & Angela helped us and we took turns canoeing (although they spent more time walking and we spent more time in the canoe...) ...it wasn't

Georgian Bay or anything, but we saw lots of wildlife (including fish jumping out of the water!)

and I snapped some pics!

I did paddle too! ;)

Milkweed Flower

Andrew Peter & Angela, canoeing

Me?

2011-06-28T07:26:00.000-04:00

So Andrew says this is me...hehehehe

Alyssa's Profession of Faith

2011-06-21T12:00:00.004-04:00

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

3 John vs 4

This past Sunday, Alyssa (along with eleven other young people) made a Public Profession of her Faith at church. We rejoiced with her - and were very humbled - to know that God has done great things in her and caused her to come to this day! We had a wonderful service with a filled sanctuary - great singing and proclamation of the Word. We are blessed!

Thank you to the family and friends that were able to come and celebrate with us. It was awesome to have so many share in our joy! Our pastor, "Uncle Henry" baptized Alyssa on August 14, 1994 and now, almost 17 years later, she has followed the Lord's calling and claimed Him as her own. We praise God for all His wonderful blessings!

We were also thankful that Andrew (Dad) was able to attend the service, despite having surgery just a few days earlier. He's doing very well and back at work today. He is on "light duties" for 3 more weeks and has done well with those restraints.

Photo Contest Winner

2011-06-21T11:51:00.002-04:00

This is for mom! :) I entered a spring photo contest with this photo and won 2nd prize! This is our friends', Bryan & Susanne, second youngest. His name is Hudson and we were looking after him and his siblings for an evening in the spring. I won 2 bags of black earth (our choice) and had one sent to Bryan & Susanne and kept one for ourselves.
Isn't he a cutie?!!
We've had so much fun in our yard with all the critters that we see.

Surgery & Recovery

2011-06-16T11:45:00.009-04:00

Andrew had his gall bladder surgery this past Tuesday, June 14th. We are very thankful and happy that all went extremely well and he's at home recovering. It was a long day - and a lot of waiting & wondering but Andrew did very well. He'd never had anaesthesia before so I wondered how that would go, and Andrew's usually got quite low blood pressure so I wasn't sure how he'd feel with fasting and low blood pressure. Both the fasting and blood pressure went well - his BP was normal throughout the whole surgery and recovery. God is good!

While I was in the waiting room with other families waiting for their loved ones, two families got cancer diagnoses, even though their loved ones also went in for "simple surgeries". One family had their loved one have serious complications with the anaesthesia.

Andrew's surgery was scheduled for 2pm and we arrived home around 7pm. Suzanne had a wonderful meal made and the kids were anxious to see dad again ... wondering how he was. He's still taking pain medication and he's got four smallish incisions in his belly - no stitches, just steristrips!

flower arrangement from work! mmmmm

Day 3 - he cracked open his laptop and began to think about

work again

Visit with Mom

2011-06-13T12:07:00.002-04:00

Alyssa & I had a nice visit with mom today. The weather was coolish but beautiful

for being outside!

They almost look unreal, eh?! So pretty! There are goldfish in the ponds also.

We only saw one frog.

Campfire

2011-06-08T12:03:00.000-04:00

Enjoying a campfire with Opa & Oma

S'mores!

Victoria Day, 2011

2011-05-24T11:37:00.009-04:00

Yesterday we had a family get-together with Dawn's family. We did take a group photo and I will add that when I receive it. Melanie's family was not able to attend - so our group was smaller, but we still had a great time. It was great that Nathan & Alaina and girls were able to attend this year! And the weather held out - it was cooler than last year but it didn't rain until we were ready to head home! It was wonderful that mom was able to come & share the day with us again this year.

A few Updates

2011-04-28T20:42:00.010-04:00

Note: this blog is still on the old blogger - so I apologize for the incorrect

order of these "events"...it will take too much time for me

to fix them...just ENJOY!! :)

Andrew & I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary on April 11th - and I don't even have a photo! EEK! Alyssa did make us a banner - I'll add that here! We celebrated with dinner at The Keg and a nice walk. Life has been so busy for us lately so it was nice to take some time together and regroup and refresh.

A winter walk with my girls!

We celebrated Easter on Good Friday with Andrew's family - we hosted and rented facilities at a local school - and had a fun time. Although the whole family was not able to attend, a good number were. It was good that we had the school rented because the weather was windy and quite cold - very different than in 2010 when we sat outside on lawnchairs!

~~~

A long-term care room came available in early March for Dawn's mom and we had to make the difficult decision to move mom there. Mom's disease is progressing and it was getting to be more and more difficult to give her the help that she needed but didn't recognize her need of. Mom's safety was also more and more of a concern. She has transitioned quite well to the home and it is wonderful to see her mostly happy and having socialization at the tip of her fingertips! She has also been eating well which has made her gain a bit of weight and look much healthier. Although confusion often reigns in mom's mind, she seems more relaxed now -- and we sleep much better knowing that she is safe and looked after.

~~~

Our big "news" is Andrew Peter's win in Tim Horton's Roll Up the Rim to Win contest - a 2011 Toyota Matrix XRS! Excitement! The presentation was on April 9th and we attended (except Suzanne, who had to work) as well as Opa & Oma and my brother Darren & neice Laura. The weather was gorgeous and quite an exciting time. (The car is for sale right now - hopefully some great customer will come up soon and buy it!)

Still here & Updates!

2011-01-24T06:48:00.014-05:00

So our last post here was on November 22nd and between that time and now we had a poll here. Now the results from the poll say that we should keep going with the blog. I checked the blog numerous times during the polling and most times that I checked, the poll was not visible due to a blogger "oops" (and I didn't receive any emails about the blog)...but even so, three of you (or the same person three times?!) voted unanimously (!!) that this blog is still a good idea!!

Soooo, we're coming back (or that's the plan anyway...).

Life has taken over for sure - between family life here and the extras along the way, so posts likely will be off and on, but don't give up. Keep checking! ;)

We celebrated Suzanne's 19th birthday in December - and her friends took her to the BEACH (yup!) for the day! Since Suzanne is the only one in our family with a winter birthday, she's always envied us having hot, summery days (and events) on our birthdays ... and always wanted to go to the beach on her birthday. So she did this year! Hilarious. They blind-folded her and drove her to a beach about 1 hour away, brought their lawnchairs & even a meal, and sat and ate. She loved it! What friends, eh?!

We had a good Christmas - different this year since we didn't get together with Dawn's family. It was strange to only have one family celebration (Andrew's side) but it was also a time for new traditions. We had a nice family-ish day instead - went to Niagara Falls with the kids and their friends. It was cold but sooooooooooooooo beautiful. Got lots of walking in, some shopping too, and a nice dinner out all together.

I didn't take any photos at Andrew's family Christmas - don't know why, I took the camera along just didn't use it. BUT we had a nice time still - with a smaller family group, but still nice. Our Christmas was white this year - which was a nice change. And the guys still got their annual Christmas hockey game in! (with a few girls in there)

Dawn's nephew was married on January 2nd in Barbados (that was why we didn't get together with Dawn's family at Christmas) and we had a Canadian wedding reception in Kingston last weekend for them. It was nice to still be able to be a part of their special times! Although the weather was horrible - we still managed to get to Kingston safely (praise God!). CONGRATULATIONS Jon & Melanie (yes, her name is Melanie!).

Dawn's mom had her cataract surgery this past month - two separate operations - and her recovery has gone well. It has been very busy though for Dawn's sister, Cheryl, because mom needs drops in her eyes 4x per day for pretty much 6 weeks. I have been helping Cheryl out with this as much as I'm able to, and Jackie and her girls have helped also - the girls have spent a few days with mom, sleeping over and have done some wonderful work at mom's place! This month has been so hectic but I'm thankful that God has provided all that we have needed to do what needs to be done.

The flu went through our household also - starting with Andrew Peter and ending with Suzanne. Quite nasty - but we all survived with lots to drink and lots of blankets!

Andrew's mom has had a rough winter - first with appointments to correct her facial issues due to her previous surgeries where she had skin cancer. Then, just before Christmas, mom fell and broke her wrist in quite a few places. Thankfully she did not require surgery for that - but has had to have her arm in a cast for longer than anticipated. She will need physiotheraphy for a while after getting the cast off today (scheduled). In the meantime, mom was able to have her corrective surgery around her eye (skin cancer) done and she now has a date for corrective surgery on her nose. We hope and pray that all goes well for those plans too.

Checking back on the blog I just realized that I didn't even announce the birth of our newest great-neice, Poppy! She was born in October to Dawn's neice, Rebecca (& hubby Jon) - congratulations to Melanie & Peter, the new 1st-time grandparents!

To Blog or Not to Blog?

2010-11-22T19:40:00.005-05:00

As you can see, it's been a while since I've posted here...not sure...
So you can let me know - are you still interested in reading our blog?

< -------- see poll beside here! Vote until the end of 2010! We were thinking of leaving the blog up for important family news (sickness, events, etc.) but leave the day-to-day info off ... the kids are getting older and life seems to get busier & busier, and blogging gets left ... however, I do like to keep things up-to-date also. Sooooo... entirelyforhim at yahoo dot ca if you'd like to email us!

Fall Fun

2010-09-21T13:15:00.001-04:00

Camp Tamarack

2010-09-21T12:46:00.010-04:00

Just a few pics of Camp Tamarack - all three kids when this year and loved it.

It's very neat to see the spiritual growth that occurs when immersed in the Word for a week! God is good!

God's Handiwork

2010-09-16T08:35:00.004-04:00

One of the nicest things about the drive to mom's is the scenery!

Every season seems to offer it's "great views" and yesterday was no disappointment!

It's nice to stop & snap a few pictures - something I love to do yet find it difficult to take time to do sometimes...

Pumpkins are ready!
The sky and fields are gorgeously autumn

Can't beat God's handiwork!

And Then There Was One

2010-09-16T08:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Alyssa's bunny died - so only "Ashes" is left now. A couple of weeks ago we got rid of our chickens because they were old and not laying very many eggs anymore (and they'll lay even less as winter comes) - so that left us with two rabbits. Now we're down to one (ornery) rabbit.

Alyssa would like another bunny - a lop-earred baby. We'll see if we can find one for her...Dad says if the bunny lives 7 years, Alyssa will be 23 years then so we'll have to make sure her hubby-to-be agrees to taking the bunny WITH Alyssa! :)

CONGRATULATIONS Heather & Dan!

2010-08-31T20:40:00.004-04:00

(I forgot that this blog is on the old Blogger...so the below pics are in the wrong order...oops!)

The happy couple

Two of the Alberta cousins (Lisa & Michelle) and Lisa & Darren's "Rebecca"
Cute cake, eh?! (Heather is a Mario fan)
The new Mr. & Mrs!

Back from another Getaway

2010-08-21T18:43:00.015-04:00

We just came back from another wonderful, summer-time getaway, again in Northern Ontario! Andrew & I left a day earlier and had a little mini-honeymoon and then the kids and their friends (and cousin Shannon) joined us.

Introducing Andrew's girlfriend - Angela!

This one needs an explanation - no, James wasn't on top of the trailer - he'd shimmied up a tree to tie a tarp up for us!

Killbear was celebrating their 50th anniversary so they had banners to sign.

Alyssa & Shannon

I LOVE this pic!

And this one!

Chats on the dock

Alyssa

Fishing from the dock

Caught a few rock bass - the girls screamed when they caught something!

Oh, and Rockband - will we ever stop singing Beatles' songs?? (hope so!)

On a rainy day we headed up to the French River Visitors' Center.

A day at the beach - a flyaway kite :(

Wonderful day for the beach AND for kites!

A shop that we stopped at on our way back from the French River...

Painting rocks - and relaxing on the dock!

Sweet 16!

2010-07-16T13:05:00.003-04:00

And Alyssa's Sweet 16 party with friends!

Twenty-One!

2010-07-04T12:59:00.001-04:00

Andrew Peter turns 21!! Here are some pics of his party with his friends.

Soccer Mania

2010-06-24T16:46:00.005-04:00

Our kids play various games each week with their friends and they've been playing soccer for quite a while now -- this past week, they invited Andrew & I to play with them. WELL, I didn't help them much, but Andrew just LOVED it!

With the Fifa games going on, there were a lot of soccer team colours and

shirts...quite a bit of orange! ;)

A Blessing of a Getaway

2010-06-21T10:25:00.010-04:00

Our friends, Susanne & Bryan, recommended that we go to The Couples Resort for our holiday...they went there on their honeymoon in 1999! The resort has a museum on site containing all of the guest books from way back when and we found the page where Susanne & Bryan signed.

museum

This was our "Spa Villa" for the week.

We had one rainy day and we decided to go into Algonquin to a museum -- turned out it was an outdoor museum!! haha The umbrella & rainsuits came in handy!

games room at the resort

We both tried kayaking for the first time! Awesome!

We used a double kayak first and then had separate ones.

Caught some fish - and a big piece of driftwood!

Took a sunset/wolf howl cruise - awesome!

We loved our time away and it was such a blessing to relax for a while!

The Food

2010-06-21T08:02:00.028-04:00

Both desserts here are GF

This might seem like a strange post but as a celiac, food becomes pretty important - especially food that I can eat safely. For me even a little bit of cross-contamination will make me sick for a minimum of 4 days (something I don't want to do anytime but especially not while on vacation!). My breakfasts were limited also because I also cannot eat eggs but I enjoyed the fresh fruit and other options.

And the food that we ate at the resort was not just food - it was a work of art and that should be celebrated, right?!!

(below are both of our meals - I've marked mine GF)

GF

GF

(at bottom of pic - GF)

GF (ohhlaaalaaa...amazing! a special treat made especially for me!)

GF (this was a special made for me by the chef - a chick pea, black bean "patty" - now I eat hummus made with chick peas but I really don't like chick peas but THIS WAS AMAZING!!!)

GF (at our last dinner the chef made me a "special dessert" - an AMAZING blueberry cobbler!!! ohhhlaaaalaaa)

GF (looks sort of boring but this was a GF english muffin with a mini tomato salad - very yummy!)

GF (Quail)

GF (an "amuse bouche" - caviar -- it really tasted great but I couldn't get over the fact that it was fish eggs!)

amuse bouche - Def: (1) a small bite before the meal; (2) greeting of the chef de cuisine.

(The Couples Resort was formerly called "The Bear Trail Inn")

It was so nice to be able to eat alongside Andrew - at the same "restaurant" and not to have to carry my little "lunchbag" with my own food. Up till this point I've never had more than one meal made for me by someone else! A huge treat!

Gluten Free Pizzas

2010-06-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd add pics of the gluten-free pizzas that I had while on vacation!

The first pizza is from Pizza Pizza. I've had their GF pizza numerous times and it's really good. It does have eggs in the crust though, which is a negative for me.

This is the pizza that I tried for the first time from Boston Pizza. It was so yummy I began to wonder (and worry) that perhaps it really wasn't GF. So it was that good! Not sure if it has eggs.

Pizza Nova also sells GF pizza (with a multigrain crust) -- I've had it only once and I found the crust quite hard. It's crust doesn't contain eggs though - so that's a plus for me.

Bancroft / Dorset Getaway

2010-06-21T07:10:00.016-04:00

Andrew & I were blessed with a little get-a-way and since Andrew has had gall bladder issues, we wanted to stay fairly close to home. For the first weekend, we stayed in Bancroft. We took the scenic route there and the canola fields were so pretty! I had no idea that we grow canola here in Ontario -- I really thought it was a Western Canada only crop!

Went went into Dorset one day and I was determined that I'd climb the lookout tower. WELL, I made it up 3 flights before I freaked and could not go on :( . But we did look out the giant binoculars - see the view in the next pics! LOL

We had a coffee at this Timmy's (Bancroft) and then went to the lookout which is on the hill above this sign. The pic below is the view! Amazing!

Silent Lake Provincial Park - We rented a canoe and spent a few hours on the lake. Motor boats are not allowed in this park so it is very pristine. Of course the park was quite quiet - the summer busyness hadn't started yet, so we were able to enjoy that also. (BTW, I did paddle but I also took a lot of pics!)

Provincial Parks have what they call "yurts" for rent which is basically like a building for you on the campsite so you don't need to bring accomodation equipment for yourself. We took advantage of taking a peak inside these -- pretty interesting. This one would sleep 6. This one had bunk beds, dressers, chairs and a woodstove inside. A BBQ is there also as well as lawnchairs. Just bring your own sleeping bag!

Bancroft - a pretty little town

Bancroft has quite a few walking areas and this one was close to our hotel. It was interesting to read that they brought in elk from Alberta to beef up the elk population in Ontario.

We HAD to have some Kawaratha icecream while we were in "Kawaratha" country. Amazing, real icecream. (Our kids were jealous!)

25 Years at the Same Company!

2010-05-25T08:32:00.004-04:00

Andrew started working for NE in May, 1985 and he's still there! A lot of things have changed since then -- one being that Andrew Peter works there also, and Andrew is a Project Manager now (for quite a few years). During the 25 years Andrew successfully completed his apprenticeship as well as getting his Master Electrician license. Duties include safety training for NE (ignore him wearing his wedding band at work in the pic above! LOL) as well as providing advice on jobs to the younger, inexperienced guys. A highlight is always the yearly fishing trips with the guys!

God has been good in providing steady employment that he enjoys as well as making some good friends at the company.

HAPPY 25, ANDREW!
Andrew Peter & Andrew - 1991

Victoria Day Family Fun

2010-05-25T07:19:00.001-04:00

This year we rented facilities for our Victoria Day get-together -- and we planned a baseball

game with mom! Mom's been talking about her baseball playing days as a teenager so we got the gloves & bats and planned a game!

Here are some random pics of the day.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we had lots of fun outside and inside!

We all got to meet Jonny's fiance, Melanie (Mel) -- they drove the long distance to be there

and that was so nice! Mel is originally from Barbados.

More Wednesday Fun

2010-05-20T08:34:00.007-04:00

More fun with boys, and girl! :) (can't say just 'boys' any more!)

Aliah gets right in there, catching minnows.

She's not into holding the minnows, but does want to touch them.

The girls with Mrs. Z (and Hudson!), working diligently on their french lessons!
(Suzanne is almost finished gr. 12 french!)
Gotta see the critters - Aliah likes the bunnies; Josh looks for eggs.
We're back to 3/4 eggs per day but yesterday we only got 1 (just when Josh was looking for them!)

Andrew Peter has been home from work and the boys LOVED that!
He's more fun than I am!! :)

How long can you stay in the stream? VERY cold!

Not the greatest self-portait - Hudson was fascinated with the lens cap!

Minnows

Old Family Pics

2010-05-12T08:55:00.008-04:00

When I visited with mom yesterday, we were looking through her photo albums and I've scanned these! Some I'd never seen before. They're out of order here but this blog is on the old Blogger and rearranging pics isn't very easy...
Darren & I setting up Darren's tent in Nova Scotia - not sure of the year but I think I'm about 10 here?

Dawn, Cheryl & Melanie

The old car & house

Dawn, Cheryl & Melanie - Christmas, I think.

I've told our kids about this van saying that it was sort of cheezwhiz colour! Now they can see the colour! LOL
(Auntie Marg - mom's sister - is with us here; Mom & kids)
Camping days - I look like I'm actually EATING my breakfast here...

Dad and us kids

Dad & mom and the family before I was born (mom was expecting me here, it was June.)

Dad & Mom's wedding day - 1956

Dad, Dawn & Darren
(my birthday - I got the broom set as a gift)

Some Updates...

2010-05-10T10:47:00.004-04:00

Mom
Andrew's mom had surgery for her facial skin cancer and recovery has been slow but good overall. She's had a lot of pain especially from the skin graft but biopsy results showed that they got all of the cancer so we're thankful for that!

Expecting!
Rebecca (Melanie & Peter's daughter) & Jon are expecting their first baby sometime in October! Exciting news!

Engaged!
Jonny (Melanie & Peter's oldest) & Melanie are engaged! No date set yet ... CONGRATULATIONS! We can't wait to meet Mel! (how do you like the duplicate names???)

Baby!
Elizabeth (Rick & Irene's youngest) & Daniel are new parents to Hannah Elizabeth! Can't wait to meet her but from pics, she's a sweet bundle! :) CONGRATULATIONS!

Andrew
Andrew had what they think was a gall bladder attack last Monday. He was in a lot of pain and ended up in ER during the night. Ultrasound today showed no kidney stones (a family trait) but at least one gall stone. The gall bladder was not inflamed which was a good sign and it's size was also normal - another good sign. So at this point this is good news. Likely he will have another test to see his stomach and then we will find out what (if anything) they plan to do. They say that he can have another attack in a week or it could be years.

I hope I didn't miss any updates! :)

A Wonderful Springy Day

2010-04-29T07:24:00.009-04:00

Had a fun spring day with Keegan, Josh & Aliah yesterday. Missed ya, Brendan!

racing boats in the stream

whadya catch??!

this looks like fun...I think...

yah, it's pretty good!

oh yah, look at me, NO problem!

from the pond

getting a closer look

looking at the bunnies

Cousin Bryan

2010-04-26T10:27:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder to please pray for Andrew's cousin Bryan and family. Last week Bryan had two brain aneurysms and is in the hospital in uncertain health. His blog link is: http://bzjourney.blogspot.com/

Hanging out with Hudson

2010-04-24T10:58:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we had our friends little boy "Hudson" over! What fun! He's the youngest

of Bryan & Susanne's kids and I haven't spent much time with him

because I'm usually with his older siblings.

Having a little one in the house is always fun --

lots of work but lots of fun.

Watching the birdies and after - for mom! Hudson was soooooooooooo excited to see mom come up the stairs!

Funny faces! Yup, the windows were slobbery afterwards!

Nice pic, Alyssa! Very "flattering"!! haha

Alyssa & Hudson are buds! He loves her! He'd just woken up
from a nap here and wasn't too sure about me yet.

And, of course, his feet! :)

Spring Exploring

2010-04-22T10:33:00.001-04:00

When my friend, Susanne, teaches french classes to our girls, I get to go on walks exploring with her kiddos, four out of five of them anyway -- we had a springy day this week so out we went! Fun!

The bucket picture should be last but I can't seem to move it...anyway, we caught a bunch of little fish and Brendan caught a frog...

Josh

Brendan is growing up so fast -- I've been taking him out on adventures since he was a baby! I learn so much from HIM now!

Aliah joins us now -- she's such a trooper. Does everything "herself"! I thought I might have to carry her around after a while but nope - she's "fine"!! :)

Not afraid to get herself dirty!

What fun!

Brendan, Keegan, Aliah, Joshua

Fun with Joash

2010-04-08T17:45:00.005-04:00

We had Joash over yesterday, while Simon & Jodi were busy packing...fun times, but sort of bittersweet too. Likely we won't see each other for a long time -- depending of course on the Lord's plans for their calling. Suzanne & Alyssa have bonds with Joash via babysitting and it was obvious that Joash wished that Suzanne was here yesterday.

So we decided to take him to visit Suzanne at work!

We ate lunch at the "Dub" and Joash was thrilled to see Suzanne again! Suzanne liked it too.

Some outside fun on a rainy day!

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-07T08:15:00.004-04:00

Reviewing the pics after a wonderful walk, ending the weekend.

Family Good Friday Get-Together.

the weather was perfect, although it did cool down by the end of the day

one for each hand, of course!

the annual chocolate bunny hunt!

Spring with Friends

2010-04-01T19:28:00.000-04:00

Winter fun...Joash & Friends

2010-02-15T20:09:00.008-05:00

In February, we looked after our friends Simon & Jody's little boy, Joash, while they were delivering their new little one -- a daughter named Sophia! It was lots of fun to have a little guy in the house again! Joash is quite a talker and reminded me of Andrew Peter when he was little.

Winter fun with friends...Alyssa was the photographer here, thus no pics of her!

Not a great winter for snow-activities, but here is the snowman that they made with friends on one winterish day with friends!

More updates coming...we were having computer "issues" and time has been flying by too! ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-14T20:16:00.005-05:00

Okay, I know, I know, I'm late with the New Year's wishes -- sorry, sorry! Yes time has flown by and I've missed many updates here. I apologize. There were quite a few events in our fall, some sad, many happy, and time just got away from me in updating this blog. But here I am!! Hopefully no one was waiting with bated breath... (whatever that means anyway! ;) )

Mark
With praise to the Lord, Mark has made a remarkable recovery and although he still has a long road ahead of him in terms of his health, he is very healthy and God has been good! We're thankful too that God has been with Michelle throughout the whole ordeal and helped her along the way and given her a wonderful family and church family who have surrounded her, Mark & their children!

Other good news was the engagement of Heather (from Rick & Irene) to Dan - the wedding is set for August, 2010! And we were happy to hear of the safe arrival of another little girl for Lisa (from Henry & Mary) and Darren in Alberta! Below is a pic of the family and baby Rebecca! (btw Rebecca F - her name is "Rebecca Marie" just like yours!)
Suzanne had her 18th birthday on December 16th. She's doing an extra semester of high school and should be completed soon. She's currently looking for a job so she can save to go to college. She hasn't decided her definite direction yet, but she's leaning towards nursing.

We had Andrew's family Christmas at Rick & Irene's as usual but with a smaller group this year. Dale & Darlene and family did not attend and we were saddened with events that have happened there. We missed them all and we keep praying! God is in control and we have to trust that!

We had my family get-together on the Monday after Christmas at Cheryl & Steve's. It was nice to get together again and nice that mom was able to be there also. Although the whole family wasn't able to make it, most were and it was a fun time. Winter seemed to arrive on that day and it was snowy and pretty!

My mom is doing well although she is declining with her Alzheimer's. We are thankful that we are able to help her stay in her own home for as long as possible, although of course we have no idea how long that will be. Our goal for now is to help her as much as we can to stay as independent as possible. She was very hurt and disappointed when her doctor took her driver's license away in the fall. I was with mom at her appointment and I could really see God's hand because I'd forgotten that this was a possibility and I wasn't nervous about it at all. The appointment just progressed and the doctor commented that she saw a decline in mom and one thing led to another, and mom lost her license. It hasn't been easy for her, but thankfully she's given Cheryl & I enough leeway to help her. She does feel more housebound, especially in the winter, but Cheryl takes mom for groceries every week and helps where/when mom needs her and I visit mom for the day every other week and take her to her appointments etc. Darren brings a few of his children to visit mom every month or so and he also does some work for mom. Melanie isn't able to visit as often as she'd like to but she keeps in touch. So far it has all worked well. I am very thankful that my own family here has been so supportive of me helping mom out because, by having extra responsibilities with mom, I've often not been able to get my own work done at home. Suzanne & Alyssa have stepped up to the plate many times, tidied up, made dinner etc. but I also love taking the girls with me on my visits sometimes. They are so good with mom and have learned a lot from her and it is truly a good experience for them. Having them come along also makes my day easier because it means that they share the conversations (which can get pretty repetitive) and it also allows me to do some work around mom's house. My days with mom are often very tiring but they are often also very rewarding and fun. I really have learned to treasure my time with mom and not to jump ahead of her and her diagnosis to all the "what ifs" that might be ahead. Again, God is in control and I will trust in Him! He continues to teach me!

In other news, Andrew's parents have had health scares that have thankfully worked out well in the end. It isn't easy to see our parents aging but if anything good comes out of it, it draws us together and strengthens family bonds and our trust in God. And THAT is another thing to be thankful for!

Mark

2009-10-16T12:12:00.002-04:00

Finally an update here...A few weeks ago Andrew's nephew, Mark (Michelle's husband) had a farm accident in Alberta...He was run over by a truck and sustained serious injuries. He is still in the hospital with a broken pelvis and various other broken bones -- and other injuries. He can move his legs but cannot put any weight on his legs yet. That will take time for the healing to occur. He is doing well despite the pain of it all. The road ahead will be a long one but we are thankful that he's doing so well so far. Prayers to Michelle & Mark and the boys as they travel this road together. (( hugs ))

Thanksgiving w/ Dawn's Family

2009-10-16T11:56:00.004-04:00

Snowball fight courtesy of the arena's snow...

Holly

A decorated shop in town

a new shop -- CANDY SHOP! all kinds of old-fashioned & new candy!

Holly's feet (you know how much I love kiddo feet! ;) )

A Time Away

2009-10-14T13:11:00.010-04:00

Andrew & I had an opportunity to get away for a few days...we were planning on going as a family but that didn't work due to jobs and school plans so we stole away instead. We had a wonderfully relaxing time together! The weather changes so quickly in the fall and creation put a wonderful show on for us! We did a lot of fishing and reading -- took a road trip up to the French River as well as to Sudbury, and came back to see an amazing storm in Parry Sound. It was a great getaway!

55th Anniversary Celebration

2009-10-14T10:05:00.003-04:00

55 Years & HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2009-09-24T17:47:00.005-04:00

Today is Dad & Mom's 55th wedding anniversary AND Mom's birthday!!

What a milestone! We thank God for the blessing of wonderful, Christian parents

and for the legacy of faith that they leave for us.

We hope you have a GREAT birthday Mom (& Oma!)

and may the Lord bless you in the coming year.

Dad & Mom, May you have many, many wonderful years together!

We love ya lots!

Dawn's gene testing results

2009-09-22T12:15:00.001-04:00

The results are in and...WE HAVE TO WAIT TO LEARN MORE! Grrr...actually, the report wasn't overly clear and my gastro doc is trying to find out more info from the researchers who did the testing. I DO have the HLA DLQ2 gene but we are not sure if I have the DLQ8 gene. If I have one or both of the genes, celiac disease is likely. If I don't have either of these genes, celiac disease is unlikely.

Research is ongoing regarding celiac disease and it's not a typical type of disease to study so that is what makes everything uncertain. The definitive way to diagnose is via gastroscopy after at least 8 months on lots of gluten -- something that I won't go back to. I just can't. I get sick with little bits of accidental gluten -- how could I purposely eat a lot of gluten for that long and then see what damage it has done? All to know that I have a problem with gluten??? Symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person and one can even be asymptomatic (without symptoms) and still be suffering from celiac disease!

So for now I've done all that I can do to figure this out. I am on a gluten-free diet and have been for over 4 years now. I have been getting healthier and healthier, although I do have some lasting implications. It is obvious that there was a connection with gluten and I feel like I've been given my life back.

We will wait to hear what the researchers say and I don't have to see my gastro doc unless I develop a problem in the future. And, I don't need another colonoscopy until I'm 50!!! Whoo-hooo! (unless something comes up...)

Thank you for your prayers! ~D

Andrew's Fishing Trip

2009-09-21T20:36:00.002-04:00

Andrew looks forward this time time of year every year --

his annual fall fishing trip with some guys from work. They go up to the French River. Here are some pics of Andrew's trip last weekend:

Tea & Paintball

2009-09-08T16:05:00.007-04:00

All done up for the tea party...

busy, busy girls

ready for the tea...what beautiful ladies!

from this ^ to this

after the tea -- PAINTBALL, of course!

some tips from the guys

the guys do some cheerleading

Then "Operation Find Campbell in the Field" -- except HE found THEM!! HA!

(Suzanne says she ran out of gas by then ... or they might have won! What do ya think, Campbell?)

Crokinole matches...

And some tired young people!

Eric's accident

2009-08-27T19:43:00.002-04:00

Imagine our surprise when we were watching the evening news and we recognized the house shown on TV and then the home address given as the home of Andrew's brother, Rick & his wife, Irene! It was scary, not knowing how things were going, what exactly happened and what the outcome would be. Thanks to the Lord our nephew, Eric, is doing well -- he does have a broken bone in his ankle but it could have been much worse. Below is the news article.

Man rescued from septic tank
Aug 27, 2009

A man survived an unusual accident while doing some digging on his property Monday afternoon.

Paramedics, police and a dozen firefighters were called to a home on ****** around 3:45 p. m. for a report of a man who had fallen into an excavated pit and become stuck.

The 24-year-old man, son of the property’s owner, fell into a 15-feet by 6-feet by five-feet deep trench where a septic tank is located.

When firefighters and other emergency personnel arrived, the man was sitting in water up to his armpits, said *** Fire Department Chief Fire Prevention Officer ***.

The man was conscious but couldn’t stand up because one of his legs was pinned by some broken concrete, which had fallen on him.

Firefighters used large sheets of plywood to brace the walls of the pit to prevent it from possibly collapsing.

The broken concrete pinning the man’s leg was removed and the victim was lifted out of the trench using a safety ring. It took firefighters about 45 minutes to extricate him.
*** police say the man was taken to **** Hospital with a suspected ankle fracture and possible hypothermia.

Lotsa Vacation Pics

2009-08-24T10:29:00.008-04:00

Just back from a wonderful vacation at Killbear Park!

Andrew Peter was able to have the week off of work (work is slow) so we were able to go together as a family. Plus we took the kids friends (5) for the first weekend (plus the Friday) -- had a guys campsite & we had the girls on our campsite. Lots of fun!

Andrew's parents visited us on the Wednesday so that was great! We spent the day at the beach and visited a lot. Walked along the rocks!

There was a sign at the front of the campground that said that there was an "active bear" around. Thankfully we didn't see it up close or anything but Andrew Peter saw it on one of his bikerides -- about 15 ft. away from him.

The weather was great, considering our lousy summer so far. We did get rain, but it was minimal. The worst bout of rain was on Thursday night -- for only about 1 hour but it was very heavy. Read later about the tornados in other areas of Southern Ontario. Glad we didn't experience any of that. We were all in tents too! Went to the beach every day!

The below pics are mixed up but you can figure them out, I'm sure! I don't have time to fiddle around with them today! Lots to clean up and sort through -- then school stuff (yes, I said it!) to get to.

Thank you Lord for another wonderful family vacation!

44, 43 and zero!

2009-08-05T21:38:00.006-04:00

There were three other birthdays that I haven't posted about here -- Andrew had his 44th on July 23rd and I had my 43rd on August 4th. AND Karen & Nate (Henry & Mary's daughter -- and our flower girl back in 1987!) had baby #3 on MY BIRTHDAY!!! Way to go, Karen!!! CONGRATULATIONS to everyone -- Karen and baby Kaitlyn are doing well. I'll come back with pics...

Andrew had his favourite raspberry cake

And the girls surprised me by making a gluten-free "cake" -- blueberries, peaches & strawberries set in strawberry jello! Yum.

Road trip to Jon & Rebecca's wedding!

2009-08-03T09:14:00.004-04:00

We just came back from a weekend away with mom. We picked up mom on Thursday and she slept over at our place on Thursday night and then we headed out to Kingston on Friday for my niece, Rebecca's wedding on Saturday. It was so nice to have mom come along & share the occasion. This was mom's second grandchild's wedding.

The weather was great for driving and for the wedding day. We stayed at the same hotel that we stayed at last year (to keep things semi-familiar for mom) and we ordered pizza in for dinner on Friday night. I had to share a pic of my gluten-free one! Yum! It's pretty much a once-a-year eat for me and it was nice to be able to eat pizza at the same time as everyone else!

The wedding: I wasn't prepared mentally for such a sweet occasion -- seeing the powerpoint (which was playing as we waited for the wedding to begin) -- seeing Rebecca & Jon as little kids and seeing how the Lord brought them together...wonderful! Seeing them so happy together -- sharing in their new start as husband and wife -- and having mom there to share the occasion.

Rebecca's friend sang a song for them

After the ceremony they had an outdoor reception at Peter & Melanie's place. Here Jon's brother (best man) gave a speech and read some scripture.

Yes, a jumping tent for the little kids...AND THE BRIDE & GROOM???!!

Mom with Darren & Jackie's youngest, Holly.

This little piggy went to market...

Sweet, eh?!

CONGRATULATIONS JON & REBECCA!

She's 15!

2009-07-15T14:59:00.004-04:00

Suzanne's "birthday breakfast" for Alyssa:

angel food cake with raspberries & whipping cream!

The weather was cool and Alyssa's friend, Natasha, was sick so Alyssa's hopeful birthday plans (to go to Wild Waterworks) didn't work out...but we rescued the day by having a girl's day out at the mall and an evening at home with family.

Alyssa's friends had a hayride/party for her on Monday night at the farm and a campfire with games.

And a fun game of "Pit" to end the day!