Puppies!!!!

We went to see some puppies yesterday. They are so soft and cuddly! Ryan and Jenn lost their beloved dog last month....the timing is a little soon but....Jenn is expecting their first child in November...so it was either now or next summer. Ryan couldn't bear to be without a dog for that long...so we started searching .......

aren't these the cutest little things you ever did see? Of course since they're Old English sheepdogs,.....they're going to get a BIGGER!!!!

They should be ready to come home in two weeks!

The New Guard!

Good Morning Company Girls!

Well, as I sit here with my cup of tea, I've been giving some thought to a blog post I read yesterday at this site http://www.raisingfive.com/. This is a blog that I think was the second blog that I started reading regularly....it just happens to be Rachel Anne's sister, Katherine. She was mentioning about a helpful website that she was incorporating to help her in her life. I went to it and looked at it and it gave me a few ideas to try in mine.

You see last weekend I mentioned going and cleaning the trailer to ready it up for the people renting it.....well,.....not only was I in pain on Sunday....I was in severe, can barely use my hands and arms , sit around like a useless log kind of pain.....all week!!! I couldn't even do my beloved quilting....now people that is serious ...there are precious quilts to be made!!

I have a disability that I was born with that affects my arms, hands and back.......the doctor told me about ten years ago that my arm muscles and back muscles could be compared to an eighty year old...all worn out. That's a little disconcerting when you're in your forty's! Usually when I do housework these days.....I spread it all out, doing little bits at a time...my kids do a little,...my hubby does a ton. In looking at these teens in my house....it's like, wait a minute...these bodies are all bigger than you, all stronger than you, all have muscles that work better than yours...well, maybe not Megan, her motor skills leave a lot to be desired...although the muscles are still younger than mine! So,...after going to this website....Kathy Peel's Family Manager.com and looking at this...the 'Whose Responsible for What' form...I've decided that there will be a little family meeting in our house.....a little changing of the guard, so to speak.....there will be rebellion , no doubt about it.....the teens in my house our genuinely unmotivated unless they can benefit financially...and I can't afford to pay them.....so it should be an interesting meeting...don't ya think? I'll let you know next Friday just how it goes!



Have an excellent week! One more week til school!!!!!!!!

My Rant

Last Year....eldest daughter and I were asked by the powers that be, at the church to run the sunday school program beginning last September. After much prayer and consideration...we said yes! The year went fairly well although there was one big huge snafu......the time.

The old 9:30am time, before church, just wasn't workin', ya know what I mean....parents that are super busy all week long just don't want to make it a priority to get there kids to church.....(although if it's a hockey practice they seem to make the supreme sacrifice!) So.....we suggested that the church try the 11:00am slot....during church time......this was met with a fair bit of resistance from those that enjoy having their children in church with them....even though they spend most of their time keeping their children occupied and quiet and don't really take in the church service......or they don't keep their children occupied and everybody sitting 10' around them can't enjoy the service either!

On the whole, it didn't work out too badly although some of the teachers really needed a break and desired the opportunity to participate in the church service....which I totally understand.....eldest daughter and I wouldn't mind that ourselves,..but since we're in charge it kind of falls to us to always be there! :0) With that in mind, and also thinking that it might be easier to get replacement teachers for the 09/10 year, we made another suggestion. How about starting church at 10:30 am...not 11.....everybody....teachers and kids...could be in for the first half hour....mostly the praise time...then the teachers and kids leave for sunday school time.....church would end about a half hour earlier than us....but....most parents/adults stand around conversing for at least a half and hour after church anyways...they could even have coffee time then.....and they could have their conversations without their children crying/whining/ and running around disturbing their moms and dads. Well, the 1/4 of the congregation that was at the church meeting to vote on this turned it down...they didn't want to give up their 'we've always done it this way' attitude.

So, where does this leave eldest daughter and I...you guessed it....not enough teachers! I must confess to having thoughts of turning sunday school into a co-op....you know, if your child attends then you must take a turn also....why do parents of today feel that they can have their children in a church program but they shouldn't have to help out too??????

Boggles the mind people!!!!!!

Just my rant,...for this Monday..two weeks before schools starts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Family Bar-b-que 2009!

So, we celebrated Honour's 6th birthday at the family bar-b-que yesterday...she was verrrrrry excited!

Eldest son, Ryan with youngest grandbaby....well, youngest that we can see just yet,..Afton...they both have the same eyes and foreheads!

Soldier boy Paul, was counting down the minutes to get back home...a certain sweet someone was on her way home from Myrtle Beach....

Paul and Verity....they share the same birthday day.....they have a special connection.....he truly enjoys her!

When Ryan was a toddler, his favourite comfy was a sock monkey...he used to suck on the mouths ...I would have to wash them regularly....sometimes I'd have to replace them...which he was horrified to find out yesterday when I gave him this wee little one...the perfect size for newborn baby born Wettlaufer due in November...I have to keep calling him Baby Wettlaufer cause they wont tell us the name they've picked out..... :0(

The other Ryan and daughter Lauren......the two of them drove up with Paul,...in the early hours of the morning...it's about a three hour drive from our area.....

Ryan getting the barbeques ready......he made homemade hamburgers that everyone loved....

Honour playing with some of her gifts ...and of course Verity doing the most perfect photogenic pose!!!

Lauren and Ryan brought gifts for the rest of the kids so they wouldn't feel left out.....so did son Ryan and wife Jenn....yes...the grandkids are spoiled!!! Here's Jairus with his soldier helmet and a mini hockey stick that he kept pretending was a gun.....boys!

This pic turned out a little light...but this is oldest daughter Leslie and daughter-in-law Jenn, showing her pregnant tummy with new grandbaby tucked inside!

It was a lovely but tiring day....it took me two hours longer to clean the trailer than I thought...it wasn't that dirty but I wanted everything to be just right...unfortunately,..when I woke up this morning my body was screamin' at me , telling me just how I had wronged it yesterday...........I was also very tired and hubby insisted I stay home from church and rest...so I loaded up on the Tylenol and Advil and sat all morning...not doin' much of anything....it was quiet...just me and my dog.

It was a good day...thanks Ryan and Jennifer for having all of us!

Our Trailer and other stuff....

Good Morning, Company Girls!

Today is....'going back up to the trailer day to get it spruced up for a family renting it next week' day!

This is the first time that we've ever done this and I do admit to a little apprehension. I really do know that we are not supposed to hold our material possessions to closely in this world...but.....well, you see...it's an old trailer...almost 16 years old....and we've had it ourselves maybe 13 of those years. Hubby and I always used his parents or my parents trailer for our holidays...til our family got so large that it didn't seem like a holiday anymore.....the last time we used his mom's little RV we came home more tired then when we went up...not good.....so we searched high and low for a bank that would finance it and we bought this barely used trailer all those years ago. It took about five years for us to pay it off at the bank....five very long years. We try to take very good care of it....no monkeys jumping on the bed allowed! When the grandkids come, every single mirror (there's always lots of mirrors in these little trailers,...I think it's suppose to make them look bigger inside!) always gets fifty million fingerprints all over them....I wait till they leave before I even try to clean them! Up til now, we've resisted renting our little trailer because we just weren't sure that anyone else would be as gentle with it as we've been all these years...but this summer my good friend Anne said she had a friend that needed to rent a trailer for the week,...that we weren't going to be there for...and would we please consider it......so we finally decided to give it a try....I'm hoping we don't regret it.

Then.....tomorrow, we are suppose to leave our trailer and go to Parry Sound, where eldest son and his wife live for our annual family Bar-b-que....wait a minute...we didn't have one last year..so does it still count as an annual event? Oh well, we're all looking forward to it...usually eldest son and wife have to travel down here to see us all so they like that we all have to do the travelling for a change!

Yesterday's visit to the doctor was a waste of my time (and his)...he has to see Ben before he can fill out the papers....I explained that seeing Ben wasn't going to make a difference since Ben has kindergarten age comprehension (at 18 yrs old) and wouldn't understand what he was asking him, so why did he need to see him.....but...he did say he couldn't verify everything he was signing without even seeing Ben...I guess he did have a point...but I ended up using most of the afternoon up just finding that out! Grrrrr.

Then when I got home, there was a phone message from the parole officer who is in charge of other son, (who spent time in jail at the beginning of the summer)...so I called him back...he wanted some background info and was hoping I could help him out....I didn't mind since this son needs all the help he can get to be understood at this time. He has FAS...it's a terrible thing. So many of the kids that come into the foster care system do. I know it's not an excuse but it does explain some of the behaviour.

So, Company Girls, I must be off...have to gather the stuff together and my cleaning supplies and get on the road...have a good weekend y'all!

A Generous Soul

Maya is getting older....not just in looks although this pic shows her kinda dressed up...she usually dislikes this kind of attire with a passion, but the occasion demanded it.....last night Maya was upset about something personal and it all came pouring out....'this is why she has no friends, this is why people think she's weird, this is why she laughs too much, this is why she teases too much.........really, it broke my heart to listen to her......Maya has the wonderful personality but I knew last night that trying to convince her of that would be useless......I will pick my moment....Maya is a generous soul, always trying to be helpful....she absolutely loves to look after her nieces and nephews,.....she's extremely sensitive, people don't always see that and think they have to 'hit her over the head with a 2x4', so to speak, to get their point across...you don't, but people do...it affects her greatly....ah Maya,...getting older, becoming more aware of ones self,....it can be quite the maturing process.......

On another note,...have to go to the doctor's again today to get him to fill out more forms ...this time it's for Ben's ODSP......a disability pension that he'd get monthly...I hate getting doctors to fill these things out...they never do it at the moment...you always have to go back, making another appointment, sitting in the waiting room forever, waiting to be called......our old doctor, who is now retired,...never had you wait, hardly at all, and when I had forms to be filled out, he did it, right there, right now....I sure do miss the old guy....

Honour Elizabeth......

Honour was born six years ago today. My very first grand daughter. I remember it well,.....and considering my memory banks these days...well, that's an accomplishment! She was born just a few short days after the 'great blackout'.....you remember, when all the area was without power for days...a little scary because Honour was suppose to be born at home....we weren't sure this would be allowed if there wasn't any power. The power did come on and Honour was born at home...and it was a fabulous experience....I don't know how I could ever forget it (but after watching my elderly mom lately, I can see it may become a real possibility. :0( ....dementia is an ugly thing) .

It was a sunny day.....eldest daughter and I walked the neighboring streets, while her uterus contracted....excited that this day had finally arrived. I will admit to being a trifle concerned....but tried to be a good, supporting mother and not show it. I had never been at a home birth before...what if something happened? what if there was an emergency? Eldest daughter has had an amazing midwife, for all her childrens births, Tamara. I wish I had known about midwives when I was expecting (but then again, I had to have sections, so I guess it would have been redundant anyways). Of course, I have no idea if all midwives are the same...but Tamara,...well, words can not describe the calmness that exudes from her...it makes you feel quite confident....even when you're just the nana, watching close by.

As the afternoon sun streamed through the bedroom windows, Honour Elizabeth was born. I was so excited that I felt like my heart would burst through my body....I wanted to run up and down the street and tell strangers......' a baby girl has been born, right there in that house,..a miracle has happened,..and she's beautiful and her name is Honour Elizabeth'!

Happy Birthday, Honour Elizabeth........your nana and papa love you very much....and we're so glad that you were born on that beautiful, sunny day, six years ago!

Best Friends!

This is Megan and her friend Annalise. They met at Fairhavens this summer when her family came camping for the week. It's quite incredulous really because Megan and Annalise are intellectually developmentally identical! Megan has never had a real friend before so this is fantastic......Annalise's parents were also thrilled because they had been praying that their daughter would make a friend at Fairhavens this year. Another great thing about this whole situation is that people come from all over to camp at Fairhavens..(that's not the great part)...the great part is that Annalise's family lives very close to us....actually about two minutes from where eldest daughter lives! This is fantastic...Megan finally has a friend and she's close by for them to hang out! So what do best friends automatically do...you got it..they plan a sleepover! A few weeks ago they started planning...the earliest for either family's schedule was yesterday. For the last two weeks ...daily....we have heard the count down from Megan......although because she has time issues it was a little confusing........3 more months........months??? ...is it years? no, it's not years or months......this is Monday...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....these are called days.........so.. how long is it? days???? (hesitantly)...yes! Everyday people.....every cottin' pickin' day! Of course, yesterday was the worst...every few minutes....is it time to go and get her......how about I brush my teeth now.....(@3 pm....even though we weren't picking her up til 8:30pm).......Annalise and I are going to do this...and Annalise and I are going to do that......when Annalise is here......

So, Annalise came last night...both girls were grinning from ear to ear the whole drive home.....when they got home they both wanted to watch their favourite 'Little House on the Prairie' (we have some DVD's).....then at 10:30pm they asked to play the Wii games...hubby was having a cow because of course he has to get up early in the morning......but....I'm thinking that because these girls are both delayed they didn't realize that sleepovers meant staying up half the night cause they both were in bed and quiet by 11 pm.! Hubby was pleased!

So, this morning they both awoke when hubby left for work at 7:30am.....chattering away and laughing.....it was a nice sound.

ALL DONE!

On Verity's , the blue rectangles, stitched in 1/4" lines...I really thot this fabric reminded me of Verity with the starbursts (or Fireworks!)...that's Verity's personality!

I outlined all the flowers in the outer border , the flowers reminded me of Honours personality...gentle and soft......and the diamond pattern...I think it's called cross thatched on the other border...

Miss Honour's

Miss Verity's

Hubby suggested putting their names in colour...I had already done them in a regular quilting stitch in the white thread....they really didn't show up very well.

Honour kept asking for the last few months...is it done yet???/

Verity is quite pleased....




Finally, after a year of hand stitching.....Ta Da!!!!! Honour and Verity's quilts are done!!

Gills!

Does fish gill have one L or two?...anyways...my spellcheck for blogger is acting weird...so I'll just chance it here.....

This is Megan....I've spoken of her before,...she's my youngest.....the body of a 14 yr old in the mind of a 3 year old...ya...frustration...anyways.....

this morning I was feeding Megan's goldfish...she tends to overfeed and the fish have died in the past...then we have weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.....so, it's my job...when I think of it.....she was pointing out to me that there was something wrong with her fish....'what's wrong?'....'it has lines on it's side'...'where'...'right there'......'Megan.....that's its' gills'....they're suppose to be there!" As I was leaving her room, this outraged voice follows me...'where are my gills...aren't I suppose to have gills?'....'NO'....'why not?'.......'because you're not a fish, Megan...you are human....humans don't have gills'!

I will admit,...I could not contain myself....I started laughing....from another bedroom I heard Maya laughing......sorry.....sometimes you just have to laugh...or go crazy......or give up.....

The Unknown ~ Port Stanley!

This is the guy that was responsible for planning the whole weekend! My hubby even arranged for his sister to come and stay with the kids and the dog...one brave woman!

This is the inn where we stayed...the outside looks a little austere but our room was absolutely fabulous...I wanted to come home and recreate it at my house!

The view from our balcony. We had our breakfast at that table the morning we left.

All the 'water' pictures were taken from our balcony...great huh?

I just had to put this pic in...I told hubby that he had to sit in it so everybody could see just how huge it is......the tub was right beside our king size bed....(which I'm not really too fond of (kingsize beds, I mean) cause I don't like hubby in the next time zone, so to speak....)

So that's just some of the pics from our wonderful weekend...hubby called it my mid summer break....so that I can get thru the rest of the summer! It was a wonderful relaxing weekend...it rained on Saturday...we did go on a little train ride that was kind of fun.....some old train cars that had been redone by volunteers ...the rest of the time it rained...that was okay because it was supposed to be a relaxing time.......not going places and doing things...we watched movies and I worked on the binding on Honour's quilt...almost done! We were only gone 48 hours but it seemed much, much longer......a wonderful, thoughtful gesture from a wonderful, thoughtful hubby......ya, he's a peach! :0)

The Unknown......

Good Morning Company Girls!

Well, it's been a very busy week...and all the laundry still isn't done from being away at the trailer......but.....I'm going away!

In the beginning of July...hubby knew that this was going to be a rough summer with the four teens so he said....August 7th is my 'comp' day.....the day he takes off cause he works extra for the previous two weeks.....so....he says...'reserve that day'! I'm taking you somewhere...you'll deserve it after the first half of summer....so we're going away....and I have no idea where!

Hubby loves planning things for us to do...he loves to plan things that he thinks will give me pleasure...yes, ladies...he is a peach!

So, I have no idea where I'm going but he says it's not anywhere I've been before...so it's really got me stumped!

I'll let you know ! :0)

The Best......

My sweet little boy...Jairus...

Jairus turned eight in March.......the day he was born was a day filled with mixed emotions.....excitement and concern, all rolled into one. Jairus was born with a disability called Pierre Robin Sequence . This little guy has overcome such tremendous odds in his life.....when he was born he only spent maybe two minutes with his brand new momma before they whisked him off to the NICU where they poked and prodded, stuck needles into his newly birthed body and tubes down his throat...Jairus's tongue could not place properly in his mouth and would fall back in his throat, cutting off his airway. He could not feed like the other babies ....a tiny tube would be snaked down to his tummy by way of his nose.......for the first eight weeks of his life he didn't know that he had a home where his little bed waited for him, where his new mom and dad would learn how to suction his airway and replace his feeding tube when the little fingers would pull it out. He knew about their love for him and the love of his nana and papa, as we were with him everyday......I am his nana...he was my first grandbaby.......I would spend hours rocking him,...putting him into 'the position'......on his tummy , over my forearm, was his favourite and I could always get him to sleep. As he grew, his milestones came slowly.......he didn't sit when he should have sat, he didn't crawl when he should have crawled, he didn't walk when he should have walked....and he didn't eat his food 'normally' until he was a few years old........but most of all he didn't talk.

I always maintained that he was, and is, a smart little guy......all his information that he studiously takes in, just gets locked in there and can't come out. Fortunately, after many occupational therapists, speech therapists and people who love him that never gave up....he's starting to talk.....some words are still difficult to understand but Jairus makes his needs known....and after seven years I heard the best sound ever.....I heard him call me nana......my heart was singing and in my head I was doing cartwheels!

Last week, along with his sisters and mom...he was at our trailer for the week.....at one point...he was very excited to be going somewhere on the campgrounds...I don't even remember where now......he had his bike helmet on, and he paused and turned as he was leaving the trailer...went running over to hubby gave him a hug and a kiss and offered his cheek for papa to kiss...then he came to me and did the same........it was THE BEST MOMENT OF THE WHOLE WEEK!!!!!!!

Hubby and I were both grinning as the tears came close to the surface....it doesn't get any better than that people......uhuh, no sirree.......

Lookee at my grandbabies!

One morning our other grandson came to visit and say hi...he was staying w/his other grandparents....I said to hubby...quick,...take a picture of them all!

This looks like the best shot.....Afton's in the stroller, Honour is next...she'll be 6 in a few weeks, the guy in the middle is Donovan, he's the other grandson, we don't see him very often, then Verity......she kept saying 'actually' all week...'well, actually nana, I really didn't step on Aftons' toes, it was an accident'...and Jairus. One day, Jairus was asked by his mom, twice if he wanted to go to the pool with them and he said 'no'...but as soon as they left he went into a panic and just had to go! So, there we were, hubby and I, desperately trying to get him into his bathing suit as he was doing a frantic panic. Then he got on his bike and I had to go with him, ...the pool is a little distance away...well, eldest daughter said that they couldn't take his training wheels off yet cause he rode too slow, like an old man.....so,...off we went....well, did he make a liar out of his momma! He went roarin' down the road and I was trying to keep up...he was going so fast that I had to try to run....well, people...this body has not run in many years.....many, many, many......by the time we got to the pool my heart was racing and my breath was puffin'! By the time I walked back to the trailer my legs were still wobblin'........yes, I know severely out of shape, I am. I told my hubby how I was feeling and he said..'you mean all I have to do to get rid of you is make you run'?....ah,...a feel good moment!

We've come home from the trailer...finally...it seems we've been there a very long time....the last week was spent with my grandchildren there,....it was a little crazy at times.....12 people in a 29' trailer....when you break it down it was 4 adults, 4 teens and 4 small children! Ya, just a little crazy!