Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Life in the COOL......

Yesterday was a somewhat quiet day for the most part...the other parts included having two men come to my house, drive my two dogs crazy while they took our oil tank out of the basement. Now, we have this empty corner in the basement where the oil tank has sat for 50 years....it's kinda groady.....then, later on in the day another technician type guy came to take an oil manager meter,..or whatever...off our old furnace that is due to be removed tomorrow. I guarantee you that the dogs will also go crazy when this happens. Our male sheepdog, Reilly is determined to protect the house and all that is in it from any male in a 4 mile radius and our female just gently walks around the house like she's the reigning monarch! Other than that I was quilting a good amount of the day....until athletic girl had to get to her basketball game at the highschool.....she shot 3 three's, a two and two foul shots! Way to go Maya! Then I whisked her up to the church, with only a moment to spare, for band practice. She
lamented along the way that she wouldn't get supper til she got home....Poor Maya...

Today, Maya has another game but I wont be able to see it because I have to take Megan to her Teentalk program......it's a socializing program for developmentally delayed kids.....it should be done just in time to get back down off the mountain (really a hill)...to pick up Maya from her game. Then, glory be, hubby is suppose to be home this evening...and yes, he's planning to take tomorrow off to be here when then furnace is removed and the new one put in! Yes!!!!!! I love it when hubby is home....in fact I can't wait til he can retire!....about 9 years and 3 months from now!

......oh,.....it is getting kinda cool in the house......glad we should get some heat tomorrow!......although the sheepdogs like the cool!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Drama and Angst!

Good Evening Company Girls!

I'm a wee bit late today...been on the go since early this morning and this is the first that I've had to sit down and write a post!

This week has been full of some angst that I could have done without for sure.....it all started last weekend when eldest daughter and I found out that we got into a little hot water for doing something that some members of the congregation took issue with....why do people feel that the can go to those in authority and have the right to complain about something that they don't happen to agree with ...why?....personally, if something happens during a church service that I don't agree with, I wouldn't dream of going to the pastor and complain about it...I would probably just grouch to hubby about it....but go and complain to the pastor...no way...not my style.....I think the thing that really ticked me off about the whole thing is that I had a terrible time getting enough Sunday school teachers for this year...in fact, I'm having to teach one of the classes...not ideal, but what else could I do....anyways, ..the people that are so quick to criticise wouldn't dream of coming and helping out with the program. I think that if you're not willing to help than you should put up and shut up....just my opinion. Then, last Sunday, when we had our very first day of Sunday School starting up again, we ran into a little problem when one of the rooms that we needed to use for a class room is also used for another group....well, this other group got their knickers in a knot when they couldn't come into the room when they wanted to......they had to wait ten minutes!!!!! Oh my goodness,...the poor dearies....so, I had to have a little conversation with one of the people from that group so we could 'come to a compromise'....which of course meant that we were suppose to find another room....well, we've run out of rooms.....unless you would like to have your child sitting in a small room with the churches industrial size dishwasher and the churches recycle boxes (filled with recyclables) as their room decorations!!!!

Than....drama queen daughter brings home a birthday party invite from a girl at school....I will admit that as soon as I saw the address of where this girl lived I declared...'no way am I taking you to that area!'......it is an area that is well known for it's drug dealings......anyways, instead of telling the girl that she couldn't go because she had the first night of the season youth group at our church....you guessed it....drama girl told the girl what I said....well, of course the girl took offense to it, which I would certainly expect...then the girl goes home and tells her mother...who also took offense....and then said mother decides to call me and politely ask if my girls could come to her daughter's party......I could tell by the edge on the woman's voice, harder than a concrete slab, that the mama was out for bear,...so I said the girls had youth group and one of the girls had basketball tryouts....mama said well, couldn't they come after that,..that she'd bring them home...her daughter really wanted my daughters to come....so of course, I said yes.......I'm telling you people...I really don't need this much drama in my life!

There's a song that is one of my favourites for the Simon and Garfunke, Bridge Over Troubled Waters album,,,,all about keeping the customer satisfied.....well, I'm 'ohohoh' so tired , just tired of keepin' the customer satisfied...satisfied!!!!! (Ya, I know, I'm datin' myself)

Next week is a busy week....we're having to replace our twenty year old furnace and air conditioning...big job because we're also changing from oil to gas....something that fills me with trepidation...gas makes me very nervous...but everyone says it's sooooooo much better. So, one day they come and remove our oil tank from our basement......which means we have to clean more of the basement this weekend...and then two days later they come and remove the old furnace and put in the new......

Then on Friday it's hubby's every other Friday day off so ...since it's the day before his mom's birthday we plan to drive an hour and a half away to her house and have lunch with her...it really is nice to be able to go places while the kids are in school!

Then on Saturday eldest daughter wants me to go to a scrap booking day with her....I hope I have the energy left!

Have a great week ladies!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Birthdays!!!!!!!


This is Leslie....a very pensive shot...Happy Birthday, Leslie!


Happy Birthday Lauren and Ryan!!!!!!


Good Morning Company Girls!!!!!




This weekend is Birthday weekend in our house! Well, to be quite frank, from now to Christmas is Birthday Season in our house....a lot of birthdays happen when you have nine kids and almost six grandkids......in our family a lot happen between September and December.




Today marks the day, 35 years ago that I became a mom for the very first time...eldest daughter was born at 1:38am after about 30 hours of labour! In the end the doctor had to perform a C-Section......ya, unpleasant but we finally had our little girl......we were exhausted but thrilled! Now she's all grown up, married with 4 little ones of her own.




Next Tuesday, on the 22nd, second daughter was born....although I wasn't there when she was born there's an interesting story about it all. We had been a foster family for a couple of years and had received our most recent foster child, in the July. He was a handful but for some strange and weird reason, while we were on our holidays in August, hubby and I discussed opening up our home for another child...we were only approved for one child at that point...foster that is...we had two birth children at this time. We discussed and prayed and decided that yes we would. When we got back home from holidays, I kept meaning to call the Children's Aid agency....but everytime I went to call I was filled with anxiety that prevented me from calling. Finally, on September 22, I pushed through the anxious feelings and called our worker to tell her that we wanted to be open for two kids......she said that she'd have to come and check our our house to make sure there was enough room and she set up an appointment to do that the following week. At the end of the first week (the appointment was set for the next week), I received a phone call from our worker. She said that a tiny little baby girl had been born and would we consider taking her......a newborn!!! I jumped at the chance....that was on the Friday and the worker said she'd bring her out on the Monday......that was a sleepless weekend for sure! I said 'but we haven't been approved for another child yet.../.she said that it would be okay, she'd check it out when she brought the baby!' The amazing thing was that this wee little babe...all 5lbs.80z. of her had been born on September 22nd...the very day that I had called in.....if I had called earlier, when we got home from holidays, we would probably have had another child by then and sweet little babe would not have come to our home! Amazing eh!...totally the Lord's workings in my mind! Oh, and obviously nearly two years later we were given the privilege of adopting Lauren Kristie Victoria!!




The other birthday that we've been celebrating lately is second daughters' boyfriend. He's really become part of our family, which is a good thing, as Martha would say, cause he's a really nice guy...Ryan (boyfriend Ryan, not son Ryan...ya, that part gets a little confusing :0) ) has his birthday the day before second daughter, Lauren!




So, ya...by the time the weekend is done we'll be all 'caked out' but hopefully all will go well as we celebrate the birthdays of these special people in our lives!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LESLIE!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Waiting.......

Waiting!....I'm not really good at waiting...when I was a kid, I was the one that snuck into my mom's bedroom in the weeks before Christmas to check all the shopping bags to see ahead of time what would be under the tree...heck, I even unwrapped gifts,...ever so carefully......and wrapped them back up again....the curiosity was force driven!

Now, in all the years that I've been a parent....actually 35 years this Friday...(eldest daughter's birthday),...I've sat through a lot of waiting...usually with a good book on my lap......actually, one doctor apologized for taking so long and I assured him that it was okay since it was the biggest block of time that I had had to read in a long time! As a parent, you do a lot of waiting...some for the concrete everyday things like doctors/dentists/waiting for them to finish work at midnight so that you can finally come home and fall into bed because you have to get up in six hours to go to work..waiting.....

...and then there's the other kind.....waiting for them to sit up, to crawl, to walk, to eat on their own, to talk......I waited for seven years for my very first grandbaby to call me 'nana'....did my heart soar when he did!........(anybody that knows my sweet grandson Jairus knows what I'm talking about)......and yet,...there is another kind...waiting to hear very special words that actually mean something (and not because they want something)...the I love you's, the 'thanks for being there for me', the 'I'm not going to do that stuff anymore'.....(I'm still waiting on a couple of kids on that score!)........waiting for a few of them to stop wandering in the wilderness and come back to what they were taught, from little babies and toddlers...all their life.....waiting...the biggest wait I think, really...the most difficult for a mothers' heart......

....I was watching my dad yesterday...he's very depressed, he's very fragile...he's tired....tired of going to dialysis three times a week, tired of the unpleasant (putting it mildly ) side effects of his ulcerated colitis, tired and sad of watching his wife of over 65 years slowly succumb to dementia.....it breaks your heart when you watch my mom, remembering how she used to be...seeing how she's become......I thought last night...I wonder if this winter this will be the one...the one where we say good bye to one of them....it always seems to happen in winter....I know...gettin' maudlin' here aren't I........but deep in your heart, you know you're waiting....

there are good things to wait for too.......new grandbaby due in November...something to look forward to, waiting to hang your hat on as you wait for that big phone call saying 'come, come now,...it's time!'........

....different waitings in your life...nothing in caparison to the amount of waiting the Lord has done for us...waiting for us to turn to Him, waiting for us to acknowledge Him,..waiting for us to love Him......just patiently waiting.....

Friday, September 11, 2009

Puppies, dogs and freedom!

Good Day Company Girls! Well, we've had a few changes in our family this week!!!! No, no...don't worry...no more kids! Dogs!!!!!!.................We got a new adult female Old English sheepdog and this morning, eldest son and his wife went and picked up their little Old English Sheepdog puppy! Thankfully, they took the puppy home....I'm not that crazy!
This is a shot of our new dog, sniffing the puppy sitting on my lap with grandaughter Verity adding a hug....

This is our new dog....her name is Maggie....

This is the new puppy...her name is Flannery......isn't she cute......



Another shot of Maggie....




And another....right now she's establishing her place in our family and with our male OES....she's actually dominating him!...although Reilly is much larger...it'll be nice when they become friends...which I'm confident will happen when they get used to each other!
So, ya...it's been a busy week.....the kids went back to school....eldest daughter had our camera so I didn't get a picture to post.....but they're really back!!!!! Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!
Hubby went for an ultrasound endoscopy this morning and everything was clear...thank you Jesus....so, I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend....:0)....have a good one ladies!


Friday, September 4, 2009

Life Choices

Good Morning Company Girls!

..........One of my daughters and I were talking about life choices yesterday. It got me to thinking about my life choices. There's a buzz phrase going around these days about 'leaving your footprint' in this world...now I know that they're talking about the environment...but to me, it is my life. The actions and choices that I've made in my life ...and since for me my life really didn't begin til I was married....I'll say in the last 36 years. I guess you could go back earlier to when I was a teenager but when I think back on those days....i really didn't have a focused thought in my head. There were too many uncertainties at that point.....what I would do when I graduated high school, would I ever get married, would I have children.....strangely enough I never thought about how many children I would have. I'm sure that if someone, anyone, had told me that I would have 9 kids,..I'd probably thought they were a little crazy.....like some people think I am for having 9 kids....

I've been reading some blogs thru another blog...you know how that goes...somebody mentions a blog in their blog so you go to it and get caught up in what the blog is saying (or sometimes you read it and think...nah...not interested). Well, last Sunday I was reading a blog that sent me to this one....http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/......I was stunned at the commitment that this young woman has made in her life...the choices she has made.....the footprint that she is leaving......a few days later I came across this other situation...through another blog....oh my goodness I never dreamt that something this horrific was going on in this world...(yes, I know, I'm very naive)...I do know that there are horrible injustices happening to children in this world...I was a foster mom for 19 years......but that children would be killed just because their top teeth came in before there bottom....oh my goodness.....go here to read about it and to read about a family that is doing something about it....leaving a positive footprint in this world....http://www.drawnfromwater.org/......

So, ya......the choices I have made,.....lasting positive footprints left in this world...I realize we cant all be Mother Theresa types...but it does give you pause to think about all the selfish things we do, the choices we make in our lives that we've been given that is all about promoting our own agenda.

Something to think about.....

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Gift

What an unexpected lovely gift that we received last night!

We have a couple who we've been friends with for so many years ....it's hard to remember when the friendship started. Kim and Dave were and still are this couple that are larger than life...they are enthusiastic and full of energy.....two things that hubby and I are lacking! It's an odd friendship to be sure but one that's full of laughs and good times when we're together. Over the years, we've had to work hard at keeping our friendship current because we're all just so darn busy! We try to get together for supper every 3-4 months...telephone conversations are impossible because Kim and Dave are empty nesters now and they're never home. I've taken to sending her emails every once in awhile to catch up....usually I throw a few zingers in to get her attention (not hard in my family where something is always happening!). Although quite often their Internet is down and Kim can only read emails at work. A few weeks ago I sent her one of those emails, and was mildly curious that I hadn't heard anything back.

Well, yesterday Emma decided to make supper...which is normally great and I always welcome anyone making supper (even though I have a huge family and cooking for 12-15 is normal for me, I've never considered myself a person that just loves to be in the kitchen!) ...anyways....Emma decided to make a dish that was extremely spicy....this old digestive system doesn't do spicy and hubby's been having an acid reflux problem lately so neither does he. Before he got home from work, I gently said to Emma..'I hope you wont be offended but dad and I wont be able to eat your supper tonight'....she was very understanding, saying that was okay. When hubby came home and asked about supper... I said 'well,...we could have poached eggs on toast...or he could take me out'......he said...'where would we go'....'well, we could go to that pub place in Grimsby'....'let's go' said he. Off we went.....

We had just place our orders, when I noticed a couple being led to a table...my mouth dropped open and I said.....there's Kim....and Dave....hubby turned and slightly raised his voice (hollered)...'Bergin!'.......and there they were....the couple that we usually have to have a meeting of the minds and calendars just to make a dinner date 3 months in advance.......What a treat...what a gift!

We had a lovely impromptu supper and catching up.....their son had just got married in June (we were invited but since it was in British Columbia, impossible to attend) and their daughter is expecting their first grandchild! They are over the moon!

I'm sure that this evening was arranged by the Lord.....Emma was suppose to make supper the night before and I put her off and had leftovers instead.....we rarely go out for supper during the week,......my restaurant of choice is usually in Hamilton or Burlington...opposite direction to Grimsby,.....Kim and Dave live about 40 minutes away from us but were visiting a new baby born to a niece at the hospital nearby and just happened to ask the niece where a good place to grab something to eat was.....ya, definitely arranged by God 'cause we couldn't have done it near as well...(if you've ever seen Kim and I on the phone with our calendars trying to find a date when we are all four available , then you'd understand)........

A fabulous gift .... thank you Lord!