Well done....

Good Morning Company Girls!!

Our son decided to re-enlist after nearly a year and a half of civilian life.....

This Is Paul......and his girlfriend Sara....and this picture is taken just after he re-enlisted in the Canadian Army.

This momentous occasion occurred while I was in Bermuda....I was disappointed that I would miss it this time...I WAS at the first time....about 4-1/2 years ago.....but this time he just found out at the beginning of April that it was happening and of course, my mother's trip could not be changed. Hubby was there of course and took pictures.

The next day Paul said a sweet good bye to his sweetheart and flew to New Brunswick, where he reported to Gagetown, for artillery training. The first enlistment, those years ago, was in the infantry. This time the infantry was full up and they had an opening in artillery.
Now , it's hurry up and wait...in true army fashion......his artillery course doesn't start til July! So, for now, he's in a holding company...which means he sits around all day, doing nothing...and getting paid for it! He says some other guys are grumbling about it but he's just smilin'.....he's been through this before...the first time through he was grumbling too...but now,...he's just smilin'....he's glad to be back.

People have asked me how I feel about it all......I feel just fine about it......really,..he's happy...isn't that what it's all about.....of course I don't want him to be put in harms way, of course, I wouldn't want him to be injured..or worse.....but...all mom's want their kids to grow up and be happy in what they've chosen to do...this is his choice and I support him.

Paul is a wonderful young man...I still remember vividly the day he walked up the steps of our front porch, holding the hand of the social worker...looking very apprehensive....he was 3-1/2 years old.....when a foster child comes to your home, most times, you really don't know just how long they will be staying with you....in fact Paul, only stayed a few months...the first time....then a judge said he could go and live with a 'quasi' family member...also for a few months...then one September day...I received another call....Paul was back 'in care' and he was asking to come back...to come back to our home. Memories come creeping back as I recall Lauren and Corey coming home from school,..walking up the road, and when Lauren saw Paul from a distance...she let out a holler and started running and when she reached him she gave him a huge hug. What a reception!

His name was actually Justin at that time....of all the kids we've adopted his case dragged on the longest...there are some cases that 'fall through the cracks'...through legal mumbo-jumbo, he was 16 years old before his adoption went through! Yes, unheard of now....but that's the way it unfolded in the life of Paul.....

When hubby and I have adopted our children....they're quite a bit younger...Paul knew that when they were adopted, Corey and Lauren...that their names were changed...we always kept their birth names as their 'third' name...but like every mom and dad we wanted to give a name of our choosing to our chosen children....up to this point they were young enough that they went along with it.....When Paul was about 8 years old, it was summertime...he said to me one day...'mom, when you adopt me....are you going to change my name?' I was taken aback, but quickly recovered and said..'well, you are older, I really think you wouldn't want to do that...would you?' 'yes, I would'...he said...well, you could have knocked me over with a feather....but, as usual...I did an excellent acting job...stayed cool.....'Really', I said.....'If you were going to change it...what would you change it to...?', he asked...'well', I said.....'you have three names....Justin Paul William...I think we'd probably just change them around.....you'd be Paul William Justin'...traditionally putting his first 'birth' name as his third.....he thought about that a moment and seemed pleased. 'You'd like that?'...'Yes, I would'. "well, we'll keep that in mind for the future", I said. A few days later, we were driving in the van and Paul spoke up...'mom?'...'yes'....'when are you going to start calling me my 'new name'...'when would you like us to'....'now'..'now?'....'okay...well, keep in mind that we might slip up and call you Justin'...'ya, I know'...'okay, will give it a try'....I had no idea whether he would continue with it or not...but a few days later he was writing his name down on a registration card for a local V.B.S....I observed him write Paul instead of Justin...I thought..well, I guess he's serious about this....fortunately, since it was his legal name, just switched around... the social worker didn't have a problem with it!

He quickly became Paul to everyone and Justin was the scared little boy that came to my home all those years ago....and also came into our hearts.....his growing up was not without trials and tribulations....but he's now a young man, a son whom we are very proud of for the good choices that he has made.

Well done Paul....

Bermuda!!!

Good Morning Company Girls!!

Ah....a Bermuda sunset...it was an overcast evening but it was our last evening and all the other evenings had beautiful crisp sunset shots...but I kept forgetting to take my camera to supper and supper was late enough that sunset came just as we were having dessert every night.

This is the room that my mom and I shared for the week...just out those patio doors was a fabulous view of the bluest ocean you will ever see...well, at least that I've ever seen!

This is my sister Adele and her husband Dave.....we stopped at a restaurant up at the dockyards to get a bit of something to tide us over til we got back to Willowbank (where we were staying) for teatime....they had a proper teatime served everyday at 4 p.m.

This is the view out our patio doors....lovely to wake up to every morning to be sure...

...and here's the lady we made this trip for...my mom...soaking up the rays sitting on the ferry...

Well, it was a lovely trip...I wouldn't exactly call it a holiday....I missed my hubby a lot and it's a huge responsibility having the care of an elderly person with dementia....my mom did fairly well, she did have some days when her confusion was more than other days ...there was one day when she took off on me and I couldn't find her...I'm sure that if someone had taken my blood pressure at that point it would have been through the roof! My sister, who was still recovering from her strep ear infection had some days that were more difficult then others...the hearing in the damaged ear is no longer there so she has to work very hard to keep her balance and on days when she was tired she was quite 'wonky' as she described it. Sometimes I would forget and be walking on her 'bad' side and start talking to her and suddenly realize that she wasn't responding....then I would quickly touch her arm so she'd look at me or quickly move on to her other side to have a conversation....

......the weather was just lovely...each day getting warmer than the next and we only had one day when we had a slight sprinkling of rain...which you really didn't mind at all....

All in all I would say it was a successful trip....mom finally got back to her beloved Bermuda...although she says now she wants to go back again! This time she wants warmer weather...she loves the heat.....we'll see but the reality is that I think this was her last trip...her dementia is only going to get worse and that makes care taking and her safety very difficult...especially when she gets stubborn and insists 'I can do it myself'! ...and when you ask her to stay in one spot while you're gone , just for a moment and she takes off with the attitude of 'I can go somewhere if I want..I don't need anyone with me'...scary attitude when she can't remember where she is at times!

My sister made her up a lovely photo album, complete with captions so she has a tangible remembrance of her time in Bermuda...I think it will become invaluable in the days to come!

One day my mom said to me, with some concern in her voice.."I can only remember little bits of your dad being here with me'....as I commiserated with her she said....'I'll be so glad to see him again'...I said..'ya, so will I'...she said...'I told him, you be waiting for me at those gates...you'd better be there when I come'....

True love....never dies...just waiting...

Busy, busy, frightfully busy.....

Well, Good Morning Company Girls! It's Friday...again...and I must run off to my applique class soon....which I don't have my homework done for yet....good grief...at my age worrying about homework! Anyways, thot I'd take a few moments to dash off some lines...busy weekend ahead which is winding up a busy week filled with appointments and drama..... Maya is coming home for the weekend with two friends that she works with at the camps....Maya's 19th birthday is next week so she'd like to have a little celebration this weekend...special birthday supper order has already been put in....have to take her to get her health card renewed and take both my Old English sheepdogs to the groomer to get shorn...plus...a bridal shower tomorrow afternoon...the usual busy Sunday stuff...plus did I mention three extra adult size people in the house all weekend.......but Monday...Monday will come and I am scheduled to get on a plane at Toronto airport...with my mom and my sister and her husband and a few hours later land in lovely Bermuda! I am truly torn because I love Bermuda...hubby and I have been fortunate to go there twice ....once for our 25th and then for our 35th wedding anniversary...but...alas...hubby is not going and I truly hate going places without him.....yes..after 41 years of knowing each other and almost 38 years of marriage...we are still joined at the hip.....so...even though I'm sure this will be a lovely treat.....it will be difficult to be separated from my true love for so long. So...off to class..hope everyone has a marvelous week...if I can post next Friday from Bermuda than I will.... Take care everyone!

My Gang!

The Grandchildren!

William is sitting on Honour's lap, Afton is next...the guy smiling in the middle is Jairus, then Verity and then Donovan!!

Jairus officially entered into the double digits this week when he celebrated his tenth birthday on Wednesday!

William is 16 months, Honour is 7, Afton is 2, Jairus is 10, Verity is 5 and Donovan is 6.

Honour and Verity love getting into my bathtub and have a ball...they turn on the air jets and make all sorts of bubbles!!

William, last Saturday morning waiting for his papa to give him his breakfast....

Good Morning Company Girls!

Well, last weekend was a wonderful, very busy weekend.....I told you about wee grandson William coming and on Sunday I invited another grandson Donovan to come ...it was a wonderful time having all the grandkids together.....as you can see in the pictures above...it's not easy getting all six kids looking at the camera at the same time!

William arrived (with his parents) about 1 o'clock on Friday.....I will admit to being a little concerned because I really haven't spent a lot of time with him since he was a newborn...and I highly doubt he'd remember that! Other times when they've been visiting, there's always a lot of family around to amuse and take care of him and I rarely get the opportunity....all my concerns were for nothing really because he was just fine...he ate well, he played, he had his bath (although he protested at getting his hair washed!) and he went down to sleep without a peep! He slept right through the night!! The next day he was absolutely no problem at all and in the afternoon his mommy and daddy came back home. It was a wonderful time and I enjoyed getting to know this littlest grandson!

In the evening hubby and I went to Toronto a Steven Curtis Chapman concert...hubby had purchased the tickets months before so we had already told our son and his wife that we'd be out for the evening when they called to ask us to babysit....It was a very good concert....and a lovely evening out and about! Toronto isn't one of my favourite places to go , but it was really one of the outlying suburbs so that was okay.

The next day was Sunday which of course started with church and our Sunday school program....usually I come home exhausted and hubby makes lunch but this time son Ryan and his wife Jenn and William had to leave in the middle of the afternoon so we had our 'big dinner' earlier....so, when I got home from church I immediately started whipping up the batter for the Yorkshire Pudding...my family loves Yorkshire so I make four batches....Donovan arrived, which was great because we hadn't seen him in months...his mom and his dad(my son Corey) aren't married and not together anymore, so it's a little difficult and complicated to see him regularly.

Then daughterLauren came by and decided to have lunch with us..which was great....it's a rare Sunday that I don't make what my kids call 'a big meal' and everyone is invited to come if they want to, kind of an open invitation...most times Lauren and Paul have other plans but sometimes they come. I'm glad Lauren decided to come..I knew she'd want to see William too!

It was a full dinner table with fifteen sitting at it...a little noisy at times but it was just great...I love having everyone come together ...there was just enough food...roast beef, roasted potatoes, gravy, peas and corn and of course the Yorkshire pudding....I think everyone enjoyed it!

At the end of the day, when everyone had left...I was picking up this and that..doing a little tidying...and hubby came up to me and gave me a hug...and whispered...'do you hear it'?....I said 'what'....'the quiet' he said.....ya,....the family is great...and I love having them all..but when everyone leaves..oh the quiet...the quiet is nice.