He's Here!!!!!!!

This is William Ward Wettlaufer.....he decided to be a December baby and was born at 2:30 a.m. on December 1st.

A moment between new mom and dad.....

It all started on Monday morning...first hubby was up at 5:30 a.m. to leave for the airport on time to catch his 9:15 a.m. flight...we live about an hour or so from the airport......so it started out as a very early morning.

I decided to go to quilt class as usual because I knew that Jennifer was being induced, but I also knew that the method (applying inducing gel) was a very slow method. Returned from quilting in time for the kids to get home from school....Ryan had already texted me a few times saying that nothing really was happening.....
Around five o'clock, another text said the contractions were steady and they'd be having a baby that night. I texted hubby in California and he texted back that he thought I should go 'up'...Jenn and Ryan live about three hours north of us..hence the 'up'....well, I'm afraid that's all the encouragement I needed....fortunately army boy, (who hence forth shall be known as Paul because he's no longer in the army as of Monday morning) had just returned home and agreed to watch over the teens so they did not kill themselves or others in my absence!

So I left around 5:45pm, and unbeknownst to me there was a winter storm taking place just out of the city where Ryan and Jenn live!!!!!!! Ryan sent me a text...while I was driving....that I tried to read,..while I was driving....ya, I know....you don't have to tell me..I already slapped my own hand.....but it's really hard to pull over on a major multi laned highway to read a text....plus I didn't have my reading glasses on...just my distant ones...so I made out something about snow between a city called Barrie and their city...and to go slow.....well, after a detour to Vaughn Mills, the Bass Pro shop...to be specific...you see, when I had to change from one highway to the next...and I was just congratulating myself on this because there's about ten million lanes of traffic at this point...and I thought I was on the right one...but I looked up and it said I was suppose to be way over on the other side of all the lanes....too late....(hubby did say later that I probably would have been okay)...so I quickly took the next exit....and because I am woman, hear me roar...I stepped into the very first place to ask for directions...and use their facilities because I was desperate at this time....pressure has that affect, ya know......so the nice clerk at the Bass Pro shop, told me how to get back to the highway...unfortunately cause she lives around there she wasn't specific enough and I was wondering up this road, looking for the highway signs, when my cell phone rang...it was hubby, calling from California...I figured it was the Lord's doing cause I was just talking to myself and the Lord, wondering if I had made yet another wrong turn.....well, he stayed on the line (my cell phone bill's going to be humongous!) and helped me get back onto the major highway.

So, I'm just going along...at a steady 110 km/hr...roads were clear and good...no snow....further north I went the roads were wet from a light rain but no snow....I was just thinking to myself....well, this is good...I'm making good time.....just me and Andrea Bocelli singing his new Christmas album...well, that may have been a mistake.......when somebody is singing let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......well,maybe I should have put in a different c.d.!

About 40kms from Ryan and Jenn's town, the snow started.....I thought...'okay, here's the snow'...'I can do this'.....in a flash, it went from I can do this, to oh no, I can't see!!!!!! I had two vehicles behind me and none in front of me...the snow on the road was already thick enough that I couldn't see any road markings.....I was in a panic....hands clutching the steering wheel, leaning forward, trying desperately to see....anything....there was nothing...the odd time I would see a rutted tire track that hadn't filled in yet...mostly I just watched the roadside markers to try and stay on the road...I had no idea what kind of terrain was just off the road.....the snow was coming in huge flakes, hitting the windshield faster than my wipers could handle. ....and all the while good old Andrea kept singing merrily away....but I daren't even take my hands off the steering wheel for a second to shut it off.....finally, the exit came up for Ryan and Jenn's town and I slowly crept off the highway. At the first McDonalds I came to, I stopped and called hubby......who was enjoying himself at a bar-b-que in the nice California warmth!!!! Then, of course I had to visit their washroom....then on to the hospital....as soon as I could stop shaking!

When I arrived Ryan met me...we really weren't sure how this was going to play out cause of the H1N1 thing...they were suppose to be strict about visitors, but I pretended to be invisible and got in! Jenn and her mom were walking the hallways, stopping once in awhile for a contraction.....
We quickly got to to room that she was labouring in and I sat there, trying to be quiet as a mouse and invisible so a nurse wouldn't kick me out. I don't know if it was because it was later in the evening or what, but they let me stay....and about five hours later...I witnessed the birth of my grandson....we think he's a beauty! At first he cried some and then he just opened up those dark eyes and was looking around everywhere...Jennifer did an amazing job....she was very determined and tireless in her effort to bring forth her son.....I was very proud of her and my son, who stayed by her side, supporting her...he admitted that if it were him he thought he would just ask them to put him out....much more civilised!

So, there it is...my adventure into the wintery north.....(I will admit to being scared to come home when Ryan said it's like that on that stretch of road from now til spring!)..after 4 hours of sleep, and putting William's name on his quilt...I left the little town of Parry Sound and drove home.....the roads were clear and for the most part, dry.....I had been praying and I know others had too,...especially my worried hubby, thousands of miles away.....it's the first time that I've ever travelled so far, all alone.....on the way home I listened to Lonestar.....wasn't taking any chances!

Welcome to the family William...we're sure glad you're here!

A Week in the Life of....

Well, it's Monday morning and hubby has left me!....for the week....he's off to California..til Friday.....that's Friday people!!!!! Just me and my darling teens....who, when I turn my back try to kill each other at a moments notice....if any that read this are praying people I'd appreciate it this week! Hubby assures me that he really doesn't want to go...it's work you know....right....just as we head into the coldest weather...so far we've got away with light coats and jackets but this week we'll have to break out the warm woollies they say!

Baby Wett has decided that he needs a little encouragement to make his appearance..so son and daughter-in-law are headed to the hospital today for a series of induction applications...slow process to be sure....I think he just decided that he didn't want to be clumped in with all the eight November family birthdays and be born in December! There's only two in December plus Christmas!

Today is also the day that army son leaves the army for good...he's already moved a lot of his stuff home and later on this morning will say his final good bye to army life and squeeze the rest of his paraphernalia into our little abode. He has big plans that include, hopefully, becoming a police officer......hubby and I only want him to be happy, hopefully everything will go as he wants.

So, it should be an interesting week...can't say, except for meeting baby Wett finally, that I'm really looking forward to it....it's a heavy load when hubby's not here to share it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Special Places

This weekend I remember a sweet little boy...I didn't get to know him but he was very much like his big brother so I know that he is sweet. Three years ago my third grandson was born....but he was already with Jesus. There are certain songs that I hear at this time of year that remind me of him and I will admit, leave me in a puddle. "When a child is born" and "Please celebrate me home", are just two of them. I miss him on his birthday, I miss him at Christmas, I miss him at any family celebration really. I weep and grieve for what we were denied.

Special places in your heart...that's what they are......the wee ones that we never got to hold, never got to sing to, never got to laugh with....

I don't want to bring people down over this post, or upset them (Jennifer)........I just want everyone to realize that these wee ones were real, not to be hushed about, not to be forgotten...but to be validated. Validation is so important to a mother's heart.

Sweet Hayden and our little Leah.....nana and mommy love you and miss you.

This is my son Ryan and his wife Jennifer....and their dog Flannery....they are expecting their first baby any day now....although, personally I think the little guy will wait til next week.......but, anyways, for today we are celebrating Ryan's 33rd birthday!

Can you believe it? I can not. Where has the time gone! I remember his birth so well...a snowy winter type morning and my hubby arrived at the hospital,..it was about 5:30 a.m.....I was already awake...anxious about the day....hubby appeared in the doorway...snow all over his shoulders and a big grin on his face........it was a planned c-section because his older sister couldn't make her way out so they figured he'd probably have the same problem. I decided that I wanted to be awake...there was absolutely no way that I wanted everyone to know whether I had had a boy or girl before I did! (That's what happened when Leslie was born) So, I went with the epideral.....unfortunately...it didn't quite work...ya....you get the picture...burning pain when the incision was made...thank the Lord for local freezing! When they pulled Ryan out, of course I couldn't see because of the drape and back then, hubbies weren't allowed in the surgery..(poor guy was in the hall).....so, the doctor leaned over the drape and proclaimed.."it's a boy!" ...I was taken aback...I though for sure it was a girl...should have known with all the heartburn! I said 'what'...the doctor repeated himself....then they pushed the bassinet over so I could see and there he was lying on his tummy, knees pulled up, arms close to his chest....and he was making these mewing sounds...poor wee guy.....yanked out of his warm bed into the cold and bright lights!...and he's preferred his bed ever since! He wasn't impressed! He was only 6lbs. 7 oz.......

Fast forward 33 years later......and any day he'll be greeting his little boy.....new memories will be made.....'when a child is born'....

Happy Birthday Ryan!

The Millcroft Inn....ahhhhh!

Good Morning Company Girls!
Well, if you read my post last Friday I spoke about my hubby taking me to a special place for my birthday lunch. He wouldn't even tell me where we were going until we were almost there! At one point, he said we were going to eat in a pod! Well, that just brought up a ton of images in my head.....a little concern, which I didn't express, because I'm claustrophobic...good thing because it was nothing like I imagined. We left the house quite early so I knew we had a distance to travel...and we did..about an hour and a half...to ski country...of course there isn't any snow yet, so no skiing...but...it was a beautiful fall day as you can see by some of the pics.
This is the Millcroft Inn......and as the name suggests, it used to be a mill...many, many years ago. Do you see that bit of white in the pic...that's the tablecloth on the table that we sat at to have our lunch. That's what they call the pod!

When I sat in my chair, and looked straight ahead, this was my view. Doesn't it look so peaceful?

This was the view of the Inn from the non-creek side. It's a good thing we were only having lunch because we heard the rooms went for approx $400 a night!!!!!

That's me sitting in my chair...just relaxing...bliss....

A pic of the falls that I could see when I looked down....

Me!

A pic from the outside......

It was a lovely day.....after lunch we walked around the grounds a bit, then we went into the little town and toured another mill that had been turned into an artist's gallery and workshops.....

Then we came home because by that time the teens were home from school and we thought we'd better make sure they weren't killing each other.......then we went out to a movie after that...we saw Julie and Julia...yes, I know...it's been around for awhile but I really wanted to see it and fortunately I found a little theatre that was still showing it.

All in all, it was a very lovely birthday celebration!

Baby Wett still hasn't made his appearance yet......I hope he comes out soon! :0)

Life...isn't it a peach!

Life. Life gets in the way of true happiness sometimes. Oh my, that's truly profound isn't it....I am brilliant this morning....or just really tired...maybe I should stick with the tired. :0)

It was a crazy weekend. Hubby took me to my surprise lunch on Friday....we drove for about an hour and a half to this quaint little town called Alden to a place called the Millcroft Inn....haven't got hubby to put the pics on my computer yet...but I will...it was real pretty there...we ate in a little overhang called a pod.....it holds about 8 people.....it's right over a waterfall....very picturesque.....then we poked around the town a bit...bought some yummy Chelsea buns at a local bakery...then came home to check on our teens.....you see, we have to do that.....for the most part, they don't get along....they try to kill each other...I jest not....

Then we went to a very old movie theatre and saw Julie and Julia......I was really disappointed when I looked at all the movies playing at the big mega cinemas......nothing appealed to me so I was tickled when I found this movie playing at this tiny theatre...best part...the tickets were only $5!!

The next day, Saturday.....I was tired out from all our travelling and doing stuff the day before....I'm like that..it doesn't take much of doing different things to wear me out......so, it was a lazy day...til I decided to start working on Jairus' quilt top......it got to be a case of...okay...just one more block,...then ...well, I'd really like to see how this border looks...then, well.....I only have one border to go and it will be done....I just can't go to bed now...looking at the clock when I finally went to bed it was after 1:30am.....good grief...and I started out tired.

The quilt top is done! Once again, still haven't got pics on my computer to show you...(I really have to learn how to do this myself!)

Sunday was, of course, church....which for eldest daughter and I was MountainKids...that's what we call our Sunday school program....eldest daughter and I run it .....for the moment...we may give it up...some days these things just aren't worth the stress in your life, ya know what I mean?

We have two ladies who are 'greeters'...they mark the child present, give them their name child and in general 'welcome the child'.......well, after program started...I passed by them and they stopped me...they had 'attendance questions'......okay...soo...these ladies...bless their little hearts..have been doing this job for approximately 6 weeks....I've been doing this job for 45 years!! They proceeded to tell me that I've been doing my job wrong and they were surely right in their thinking of how it should be done.....oh my goodness......needless to say I left that little exchange in a dither.....just in time to go and teach my class of 10 year old boys! Have you ever taught a class of 10 year old boys? If you have, and are still sane...please...share with me your secret....because what little sanity I have left is slowly ebbing out my toes each time I'm there!

After church/Sunday school...we had play practice......something else daughter and I are crossing off our list for next year! Good grief....why do all the parents....that refuse to get involve and help always have the loudest....and I mean loud.......opinion on how it should be run. We are having a rather traditional type play and that involves littlest kids being sheep. Well, we thought that they'd be a lot more happy playing in the nursery until it was their turn to do their part...(rather than having them sitting, in the sanctuary while everyone went over their lines)...good idea, don't you think....absolutely not.... I heard rumblings from the parents, sitting in the foyer, not helping.....about 'why were they there...they could be home...this was ridiculous'...and so on.....so, it was finally the little sheepies turn and we called them in...they were to crawl around the shepherds and just be sheep like....the shepherds were visited by the angels and were 'sorely afraid'...they clutched each other and looked stricken...but as a group of boys are wont to do, they started moving and losing balance and almost stepped on one of the little sheepies...at that moment....mama bear of said sheepie comes roaring in from the foyer....hollers at eldest daughter and the rest of the cast about what nearly happened to her little sheepie...started directing cast members where they should be standing so this didn't happen again...then retreated to the foyer to grumble and complain to all the parents (who weren't helping) again!

Like one older lady of the church, who came across me after the 'attendance discussion' earlier said to me....You gotta just tell these people that if they're not for you, then just get out of the way!..I like that lady...she's a peach!

Then we left the church and went to a hotel where my grandson, that I don't see very often....(being the son of the son that I don't see very often probably has a lot to do with it)...well, it had been his 5th birthday a week earlier and his mom was having a birthday party for him (I told you that November was the birthday month in this family!) There's a pool at this hotel so that's why she had it there......we stayed for awhile then scadaddled home quickly because the rest of the family was coming over for my birthday dinner...everyone looks forward to it cause hubby orders Chinese food.....so that's what happened and 16 people ate up a pile of Chinese food and then had more birthday cake...my granddaughter was thrilled because she was getting two birthday cakes opportunities that day!

So...that was the weekend...and then joy of joys it was a P.D. day yesterday...that means that the kids get the day off school while the teachers have meetings. Well, I had an important meeting to attend all day yesterday...which had fantastic results.....and at that point....I will admit that I didn't care if the kids were home all day, killing each other.....yes, I know...I just lost mother of the year award.....you live with Megan, questioning every five minutes whether strawberries are too hard to eat with her braces but goes ahead and eats a crispy wonton chip....or saying 'why', to everything that I tell her no to, and you'd feel the same way too......trust me....

So, the rest of the week I plan on working on sandwiching Jairus' quilt and starting the stitching and waiting for grandbaby Wett to make his appearance....c'mon baby Wett!..nana wants to see you!

Another day, Another Birthday.....

Good Morning Company Girls!

Yesterday was the start of a new year for me...it was my birthday.....hubby had to work which is a little different then birthdays in the past. Quite a few of my birthdays have been spent wandering around a small town not to far from us called Niagara-On-The-Lake..it's close to Niagara Falls. It's a quaint little touristy old fashioned town, with many little shops that we enjoy poking around. Not to be yesterday.....it was impossible for hubby to take a holiday day but today is his official 'everyotherFridaydayoff' day...so we're suppose to be doing something today....hubby likes surprises and refuses to tell me where we are going...I'm just suppose to be ready to leave in two hours so I'd better get on my high horse and get a move on.

Yesterday was an unusual day......faced with a day of doing whatever I wanted to do......one of my quilting friends told me to make sure that I did something that I wanted to do...unfortunately, it wasn't something I could blog about...sorry, but suffice to say it was something that I've wanted to do for years....and I'm glad I did....then I went to Ikea and wandered around there....bought a new lantern and candle for the front porch..then I had to think of lunch.....quilting friend said...go out for lunch.....but where to go.....I don't ever go anywhere by myself....my parents had suggested that I go to this place where you get your meal for free if it's your birthday...I toyed with that idea but then I remembered that they also crowd around you and sing and clap to you and I really didn't want that....especially if I was by myself.....it had been on my mind all morning to give a call to second eldest daughter to see if she wanted to 'do lunch'...but I waited to long and she had to go to work....so...I went to a restaurant...by myself....I wish I had brought a book with me......now don't feel badly...it was surely an interesting experience......especially in the time frame of ordering and waiting for your meal...what do you do...where do you look.....I almost thought of cleaning out my purse.....maybe I had something buried in there that I could read...but alas, it's a small purse. It really did give you a taste of what a lot of people that are forced to regularly eat on their own, face on a regular basis. I will admit to being tempted to using the old 'it's my birthday' card to try and get some free chocolates that you'd get if you ordered 'the special'...(I didn't want the special, but the chocolates would have been nice)...but, I didn't.

Then I went on to the local mall, visited with second eldest daughter, who was working at the time....shhhhh, don't tell the boss.....(actually, he came by and shook my hand). I looked in all the stores for a new jacket...didn't find what I was looking for. I've really come to the conclusion that if Stacey and Clinton showed up with their $5000 card to buy me a new wardrobe that they'd get really frustrated with me since I really hate shopping! After that I came home to take Ben to his program. While he was in his program I took another look in some more shops...no luck...and then settled in to Tim Horton's with a cup of tea and this time, I brought a book and spent the rest of my time sipping my tea and reading.

When I got home, I had a bowl of cereal and then finished Baby Wett's quilt......just can't put his name on it yet, cause they wont tell me the name!!!!!! So, c'm on baby...anytime now...your quilt is ready!!!! Of course, everyone knows that's a prerequisite to being born! :0)

Oh...army boy is definitely getting out of the army...no deployment for him....now we have to find room for all his stuff.....including a lazy boy recliner....do you know how huge those suckers are??

So, I'd better get going...hubby will be saying that I need to stop blogging and get ready.....have a great weekend ladies!