My Family and Friends.....

The end of a very busy weekend! I am weary......Here's a few pictures.......of course, not in order cause I still haven't learned to do that!

This is my hubby and I at the restaurant tonight where we were celebrating my dad's 85th birthday! This afternoon all the clan gathered at my brother's house to share birthday cake with my dad and then my mom and dad, my older sister and her husband, my younger two brothers and their wives and of course my hubby and I went out for a nice supper...which my mom payed for!

Hubby and I.....

My sister and her hubby.......

My youngest brother and his wife.....

and the brother next in line after me and his wife....

this is my mom and dad........

everyone sang Happy Birthday at my youngest brother's place...the kids blew those streamer things and just had fun....I think my dad was pretty tickled.....
.....

This is Jean and John......there were better shots but when you're looking at the tiny one to choose it's hard to pick the right one..... so, I just added another one and of course the computer put it at the top..... :0)

Tomorrow morning I have to be at the dentist for 8 a.m. to have yet another broken tooth fixed...actually it's just the same two that keep breaking and the dentist keeps fixing...then on to Port Dover with the quilting ladies from the church....don't tell hubby...we're going to a material store! :0) Oh, of course, I have to drop Megan off first at Leslie's.........thankfully the rest of the week doesn't hold any scheduled appointments yet....except for a Sunday school teacher's meeting on Tuesday evening, baseball practices and games and possibly taking daughter to a doctor's appointment!....Yes,...a slow week...I'm ready for it!

A Day Off.....NOT!

Busy...busy,,....terribly busy!!!! Good Morning Company Girls! Day Off! Pshaw! Whoever heard of such a thing....not I ....

Friday's are supposed to be my day off but the last few Fridays haven't worked out that way and today isn't shaping up to be one either! Daughter #4 just called from the highschool saying that she needs some stuff for a class that she forgot, Daughter #1 called, at the same time and said..'can you check this document I'm sending that I have to submit to the church this morning'......daughter #2, needs me to call her soon cause she needs a ride to my mom and dad's this morning to join with other available family members to say good bye to my uncle. He's moving out to British Columbia tomorrow.....he was widowed earlier this year and is finding it very lonely and his only remaining child lives out there. We will miss him, but it's very understandable. It's also early dismissal today so that means all the kids will be home by lunch time.......I need to get the oil changed on the van, get some groceries (my pantry has never been so bare!)....go to the card store and get a Wedding card, and a birthday card...today is my dad's birthday...go to the hairdressers and get my hair cut....race home and on the way, pick up daughter #3 from her co-op job, which she's trying to make up some hours that were lost due to baseball games,......quickly pack my clothes for an overnite to the trailer because a very good friend is marrying her beloved, on the beach , at our conference grounds (where our trailer is) tomorrow morning!

Take a big breath.......you know people say to write things down but oh my gosh....this sounds much worse now that I see it written down!

Well, I hope somebody out there has a good day off!

Birthday Pics!

So, Paul surprised us by coming home from the army base for the weekend...so we celebrated his birthday too....since him and Verity's birthday are on the same day! This is him opening his gift from us...it was a small, portable bar-b-que.....in the shape of a large metal lunchbox....I thought it was kind of unique! He seemed pleased with it!

here's myself, Verity, Honour and Lauren......Verity and Honour are very excited because Verity just found out that one of her gifts that Lauren and Ryan gave her was a pair of Princess walkie-talkie's...they were told they could talk to each other in their bunk beds at night..:0)

......all four candles......

Paul has Honour on his shoulders while he tries to blow out 21 candles.....he didn't get them all!..but it was a valiant try...

Couldn't resist putting in this one of Jairus......8 yrs old....doesn't he look like teenager-hood is just around the corner!

So, it was a busy weekend.....the Fireproof movie and dessert time was a big success,....Saturday had us looking everywhere for a new trailer fridge...still no luck......then Sunday, busy in the morning with MountainKids (sunday school) then everyone for a big spaghetti dinner (for 15 people), french bread and Caesar salad...then birthday cake....a good but tiring day....

this week is already turning out to be very busy.....babysitting grandgirlies yesterday, plus quilt class, plus Maya's baseball game...today, taking Emma to the surgeon for her annual checkup....she had a tumour in her lung 5 years ago, which they removed along with 2/3rds of her lung.....then another baseball game for Maya..then take Maya to the church for band practice this evening......then I wonder why I feel so tired all the time!

You know you're getting old when you start daydreaming about retirement!

A Constant Week

Good Morning Company Girls! Well, today was supposed to be my day off......but, Megan didn't go to school today so......no day off...:0(

It was what I'd call a constant week....always something going on........baseball game for Maya (plus a tournament today), ultimate Frisbee tournament for Ben, Verity and Paul's birthdays, trying to find a Dora pony for Verity...no such luck...do you think Dora is on the way out?...not much Dora stuff around.....but was successful in getting Megan's grad dress.....now just have to get the shoes, only problem is that she'll need flats,...even the lowest 'high heel' was too much for her to handle....I thought she was going to sprain an ankle! On Wednesday night, the only evening that hubby has off from teaching,...we went to one of my favourite places...the Lilac Dell....a small valley, which is part of our botanical gardens, that is filled with every kind of lilac bush you could imagine. It was a beautiful warm evening and we just sat on the bench and enjoyed the wonderful smells and the wondrous quiet. Unfortunately, we tried a new restaurant, recommended by one of hubby's co-workers before hand and as the evening progressed I felt more and more ill (we were back home by then).....so yesterday, I just had a quiet day...recovering.

Tonight, at our church we are having a missionary fund raiser...we're showing the 'Fireproof' movie....I haven't seen it yet but I've heard that it's very good.....and then we're selling yummy desserts to raise the money.......

Hopefully, tomorrow we can just have a 'puttering around the house day'....hubby says the lawn just has to be cut....next door retired neighbor has already cut his twice this week!
Then on Sunday, a family birthday party for Verity.....Paul wont be home so we'll have to wait til he's able to come home to have his cake......
Ya, a constant week....they just seem to be speeding by don't they? Or is it just because I'm old!

Miss Verity is 4 years old!!!!!...and Paul is all grown up!

This is my most favourite four year old.......Verity is celebrating her birthday and is extremely excited! Four years ago we all gathered at Leslie and James' house in Brantford to await the home birth of this precious little one...it was a beautiful day, just like today...sunny and warm. It was a miraculous sight to watch her being born...although we all had a 'moment' when her head came out but the rest didn't but Leslie had a fantastic midwife, who swooped in and pulled down and out she came. I'm all for students learning...everybody has to learn..but, I was glad that Tamara was there to step in. Verity has the disposition of her mother.....always going, always active,..climbing everywhere...just like her mom was.....I find it truly interesting to have these flash backs when I see the mom in the child.

Happy Birthday Verity!

Of course, I can't figure out how to move pics around so Paul's pic is at the top...:0)

I will not forget, although that our son Paul, the army guy is also celebrating his birthday today...21!!!!! Unfortunately, he's 'out in the field'...doing training all week....I did send him a text but I can only hope that he got it. Paul's turned out to be a pretty good guy....sure, he does a few things that, as his mom, I wish he wouldn't but hopefully someday he'll see that mom was right after all and stop doing those things...but on the whole I'm pretty proud of him...he's done what he wanted to do in his life and he's stuck with it. Pretty good for a little 3 yr old that came walking into our house, all those years ago and the worker saying....'we think he's a bit slow'......to a young man who is smart, caring and is a pleasure to know!

Happy Birthday Paul!

I Love my trailer....really!

Back home from the trailer......we froze!!!!!! It was a lovely time but very cool....and rainy...and windy.....! There was some sun after the rain but still cool, so it was a little difficult to do a lot outside....everything was quite wet and sometimes swampy.

There were a few issues with the trailer that had to be addressed this season.....when you have a 15 year old trailer, I guess it was bound to happen. Last summer, towards the end , our microwave quit working, and so did our bar-b-que, also we developed a water leak, which we weren't quite sure if it came directly from the water heater or the piping, plus for the last few years our fridge has been cantankerous...working when it wanted to or trying to switch to gas from hydro. Sounds like some expensive stuff, right? We did find the right size microwave and took it up, hubby worked on the water leak and seemed to stop it....thank the Lord.....but the fridge.....

When we arrived hubby turned it on...just to see if it might work this season.....he was pleased that all the appropriate display lights lit up....after an hour, he checked to see if it was cold or not........not only was it not cold but an odour came from it so overpowering that we both ran from the trailer! It was a freon/ammonia leak! We were quite unsure as to the safety of all that so we reinforced to the kids that they couldn't open the door....until army son showed up and before we could warn him he opened the door to see what was to drink...everyone hollered at once!

The next day, hubby contacted an uncle who's in the refrigeration repair business and when he heard what happened, he 1) said oh, that's going to cost you and 2) nah, there's not enough in those little fridges to harm you......upon further discussion, he agreed with another repair man that our best bet would be to pull it out and get rid of it and replace it with a large bar fridge that hopefully would do the job. Since army son has lots of muscles and I don't, yesterday morning was the ideal time to get it out of the trailer...even though we didn't have anything to replace it with yet. They opened all the windows, put on the stove fan and tried to put on the bathroom fan (this is a small trailer- 29', things are very close to each other)...I say tried cause when army son put the bathroom fan on, ALL the fan blades (plastic) just broke right off......army son says 'mom, you need a new trailer...I said, son, you can just buy me one if you desire...he grinned.

They opened the fridge door and ran out of the trailer til the fumes dissipated and then went back in and hauled that sucker out of there.

Now, we have an even bigger problem.....checking on line last night did not reveal any bar fridges that would be the right size for the opening that is left, a full size fridge, even the smallest is too big...plus would cost close to a thousand dollars, (definitely out of our price range)....I even thought that maybe we could stack two smaller bar fridges one on top of each other...but really, that would look quite tacky....and another trailer fridge would be at least $800....still out of our budget..........

Hopefully, sometime in the next month we will have an answer to our problem.....it could be a tricky summer without a fridge to store the food for the hungry masses...otherwise known as the four teens in my household......good Lord, save us!

The Long May Weekend!

Good Morning Company Girls!

Well, things are very busy in our house this morning....I only have a few minutes....we are packing to go up north to 'open up the trailer'.....which involves a lot of work...but it also signals the beginning of...I hope...a relaxing summer filled with good memories at our summer spot. Our summer spot is about 2-1/4 hours drive from our home......

FairHavens Bible Conference grounds have been there forever and we've been going every year since our eldest was 5 yrs old. It has many, many activities for all ages including a 9 hole golf course, a pool, baseball, soccer, lawn bowling and shuffleboard...to name a few. Best of all are the speakers they bring in each week during conference time (July and August) to refresh and energize your spiritual soul.

When the kids are small they look forward to it every year and start talking about it in March.....one year Ryan even started collecting sticks in the early spring for campfires! Whenever the kids had a hard time getting to sleep or were awake because of something stressful that wouldn't leave their minds...I'd tell them....just close your eyes and think about FairHavens...and off they'd go to sleep! I remember 3-4 years ago...one of my daughters had her wisdom teeth out and as I sat with her, in her dopey state afterwards, I had to smile to myself when she sleepily said....'tell me about FairHavens, mom'.....she was about 18 or 19 at the time. ;0)

So, off we go......it should be an interesting time.....one teen isn't in a good mood...always makes for a wonderful drive.....oh, well...I've had the cold shoulder before....and Megan, the youngest...well, she'll be over the moon...as usual!

Have a wonderful long weekend people!

A Doozey of a Day

Okay, then so if I survive today then it will only be a miracle! Even though yesterday was an extremely exhausting day....today will definitely take the cake.

Yesterday, I left the house @ 9:30am, drove to eldest daughter's house, dropped Megan there....quilting class has become impossible to enjoy with Megan along for the ride....then went to the church and enjoyed quilting class till almost 1 p.m. Then I went back to eldest daughter's house and looked after the grandgirlies while daughter went for a school meeting. When she came back, we had the fastest cup of tea ever 'cause I had to get to the baseball game in the next town that Maya was playing at which started @ 3 p.m. I just want to tell you that sitting in the bleachers, in freezing, overcast weather with an empty tummy....I never did fit lunch in there....was not a treat. Three, hours later, I succumbed to treating the girls to supper at the Golden Arches (I had the chicken salad) because I still couldn't go home yet! There was a church meeting to attend to......so, back we drove...(actually I drove, the girls just sat there) to the church for a 7 p.m. meeting!

Now, I don't know how church congregational meetings go at your church but this one was a lesson on futility and frustration.....how, people can just go around and around in circles talking about the same thing , for sooooooo long, is beyond me....I mean, really people.....what is the problem with agreeing about handicapped parking...for the love! So, then we finally leave the church, well after 9 p.m. and arrive home just after 9:30p.m.! Twelve hours after I left!

Sounds like a great day, right? Well, today will be an even more doozey day than that. Why, you ask? 'Cause Megan's going to visit the high school for the first time.....we've already gone through three different shirts, to find the right t-shirt...the girl has grown like a weed and plus she still has this swayback posture that promotes the belly hanging out....which in a way is a little humorous since she's at least 5'4" and 100 lbs.,...you get the picture....she has already peppered me with at least 20 questions about going.....everything that we've covered many times over since her brother spilled the beans five days ago that she was going. I've always been one of these mothers who didn't like telling their kids til the last moment when we were doing something special....just couldn't take all the questions and excitement for many days...and then if it didn't work out ,then I didn't have severely disappointed kids on my hands that I had to console and promise the moon to, to make up for it.

So, ya, that's my day....plus now she's come to me asking about questions about Friday, when we're supposed to go up north and open our trailer....it's traditional on the first long weekend of May to do so. Yesterday, I had to tell Maya of our plans to leave around noon on Friday so that she would tell her co-op placement......Megan overheard....that girl can have excellent hearing when she desires it.....so, she's just come asking what time dad will pick her up at school...she doesn't want to miss the last two classes, where they stick her just to keep her occupied,...she's afraid the teachers will miss her....I said that it will be fine...she doesn't agree...in desperation, I say fine, stay home then....that stops her....but then from the kitchen she's already announcing that she wants to sleep on the pull out couch....the most coveted spot......in the trailer.....

Ya, it'll be a doozey today...no doubt about it! My husband told me to make sure I get lunch today....

Friday!

Good Morning Company Girls!

Today is my day off! Actually, every Friday is suppose to be my day off because Megan usually goes over to the elementary school for her required day (so she stays on the register) and I can actually have a day, for me, to do just whatever I want. .....it doesn't always work out that way. I know that there are probably a lot of moms out there in blogland that would say...'must be nice, I never get a day off'....believe me, I've been there, done that..with over 25 children in the last 35 years. I've found that at my age, 58, being with a special needs child every day, all day long, can be extremely exhausting and I have to admit I always don't have the patience that I should have. During the week, quite often I feel like the kid in the candy store.....I keep thinking about all the things I can do on Friday and keep going back and forth ....I don't want to waste the day....I've learned that I must plan something, anything or I end up frittering the day away and then I am disappointed that I wasted such a special day. I will be glad when I don't feel that I must choose...choose rather to stay at home and enjoy the stillness of the house and puttering away at whatever I felt like or feeling desperate to get out of the house, going places, shopping without my usual shadow, having adult conversation (because when Megan is home...than I'm home with her or if we go out,) she's there...listening to everything....makes adult conversation a little difficult. Then when we get home she bombards me with constant questions about what she's overheard.

So today, I've made tentative plans with my sister,...we've both been so busy all week that we've not confirmed...we talked about going to Port Dover, because there's suppose to be a textile store there that has coloured backing for quilts and I'd like to have a coloured piece for my next quilt. Usually I just use cream or white, so a colour would be nice for a change.

I would like to add my best wishes for all the mothers....Happy Mother's Day! I hope the day is everything that you desire....I hope that your children take this day to recognize all that you do for them all the other days of the year!

Miss Verity

I love being a nana. There are many perks to the position......most of them pretty good...but last Sunday came close to the very best....because, of course ALL of my grandbabies are the very best.....but last Sunday there was Verity....on the 20th of this month she will be four years old....she happens to share that birthday with my son Paul, who will be 21......it's kind of neat to see them together....like they have this special little bond....anyways, I digress.....

Last Sunday, I wasn't feeling well, having pushed myself to go to church 'cause I knew I was needed to drive a vehicle home...(the grandkids needed to come while their parents had other commitments). By the time I got home, I was worn out and just veggin' on the couch, staring out the window, since that's all the energy I had left......when Verity came walking over to me carrying a tiny little windmill....you know those things on the end of a stick that you blow and they twirl around.......well, she had a small one...no bigger that 6". She came over and said 'Nana, I love you. I want you to have this because you didn't get anything and you're special.' I thanked her ever so much and told her that I'd keep it forever.

Now doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart....ya, being a nana is pretty good...it sure picks up your day!

Look Who's One!!!!

Baby Afton is no longer a baby!!!! Although to her mom (cause she's her last), she'll be a baby for awhile yet! A year ago today, we all gathered at my daughter's house to await the birth of Afton. It was a very long day.....even though we knew she was coming...it did take forever....but well worth it! Afton, is very cute and quite adorable. Much to her mother's chagrin, she doesn't crawl but scoots everywhere...and she's very quick...she can get across a room faster that greased lightening! She's also saying words...yes her Uncle Ryan would be proud....I think she may give him a run for his money some day....Ryan is known in the family for his words! She's very tiny...just 17 pounds, so yes, I guess we can get away with still calling her Baby Afton...as a lot of family members do....

Happy Birthday, sweetheart....your nana and papa love you very much!

A Special Day

Today I had such a lovely day. The quilting group that I belong to were invited to the home of a quilter...she used to be part of our group but since she lives about 40 minutes from the church where we usually gather, she's been unable to attend this year. Marilyn and her husband have a beautiful home right across the road from the waters of Lake Erie. I sat in her living room just enjoying the view and really didn't want to leave......everybody brought pot luck for our lunch and we had some enjoyable conversation and learned some new quilting techniques. Marilyn also showed us the quilts that she's been working on plus others that she had been working on for the past few years.....just absolutely gorgeous....I could only dream of doing that much quilting in my lifetime!

All too soon, it was time to leave and come back to reality! Maya needed to be picked up from baseball practice, Megan, who had spent the day at Leslie's also had to be retrieved and hubby was teaching this evening and wouldn't be home for supper and until much later......reality......sometimes, you'd just like to put it off for awhile......

Thanks for the special day Marilyn!

Moving Day!

Hello Company Girls!

Not much time to post today cause one of my kids is leaving!....adios! See ya! Even though she's exhausted from all the work she's done in the past month, getting her apartment ready....I'm pretty sure Lauren is excited as well as maybe a little apprehensive about moving into her own place today....for sure she wont miss being around her teen siblings.......of course, she will miss her loving mom and dad! :0)

So, I must drive one of the get-away vehicles so I'd better get a move on.......

Talk to you later...have a great weekend!