Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday, May 20, 2011

Honour's quilt and holiday talk.....

Good Morning Company Girls!

Above is 7 year old Honour, with her quilt that she made for her new cousin, due to be born in August...didn't she do a great job..of course nana's photography skills could have been better, but I think you can see it. I am very proud of her..not only for the sewing but that she even had the idea herself and gathered all the materials on her own! Way to go Honour!

I was going to post more pics to do with my post but blogger's taking five minutes at least to upload my next pic so I figured I would just get on with the post.....today we have two birthdays in our family!! Paul, who is 23 today and grand daughter Verity, who is 6!! I also have a nephew who is celebrating today and I remember that cause he was the youngest guest at our wedding. We will be celebrating 38 years on June 16th, Lord willing and Ray was just a few weeks old ...my dad also celebrates in May and before Verity was born, quite often we would celebrate Paul's and dad's at the same family gathering....yes, May is a very celebratory month in this family!

This week things have been rough with Emma.....she's got an attitude a mile long that's very difficult to live with....she told me last night that she'll probably get beat up at school today...apparently the girl that loaned her the marijuana pipe last Thursday and subsequently had it taken by the police, wants renumeration..well, Emma hasn't any money...do you know that you can buy those pipes at any local convenience store...isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard of....you can just walk in and buy something that is used to do something illegal, while you're picking up your bread and milk...isn't that wonderful....????????? It boggles my mind....my advice to her was to always stay in open spaces where there were a lot of people, preferably closer to school personnel...I know that if I called the school and reported it that it would just make it more difficult for her...the choices that kids make these days truly prove that their frontal lobe is still unattached....

This weekend little William is coming for a visit...his mom and dad are going camping...his mom and dad think this will be the last time that she can go camping before the baby comes...they really camp...you know..sleeping bags, air mattress....guess it would be hard to roll off an air mattress with a large pregnant belly....the weather hasn't been good around here the last week so it's probably best that they leave William here...toddlers and mud..oh my....

.........next week......so far..no appointments scheduled......I am thrilled...although hubby does want me to switch vehicles with him on Wednesday so I can take his car in to get the summer tires put on.....so I guess that's kind of an appointment....and then on Thursday we are scheduled to leave on our trip....it will be a loooooooooooog travelling day.....leaving Buffalo airport at 11:30am...3 hour layover in Chicago.....landing around 8pm in Seattle and then going to our hotel...about a 45 minute drive in Mukilteo (not sure if that's spelled correctly)....and then on Saturday..on to Hawaii...hubby is very excited...I'm starting to allow myself to feel a little anticipation..there's been sooooo much going on lately that I keep thinking that something will happen to prevent this from happening......hubby has been planning and saving for this trip since a year ago March...it's been a long wait of anticipation......so very grateful that eldest daughter Leslie and Paul's girlfriend, Sara have willingly stepped in to cover teen care for us...without them there wouldn't be a trip and we are extremely appreciative.....when you have four special needs teens it's not easy getting help and we are understanding of those who feel they can't handle it and are too busy with their own lives (hey, if they weren't my kids I'd probably be running in the opposite direction too!)...that's life and that's what we accepted a long time ago...some days are easier to accept than others but that is life..so be it.

Well, I've just noticed that I separated Honour's two pics of her and her quilt,...looking below you can see the quilt better ...oh well....I've never professed to be good at this computer stuff!

It's a long weekend here for Canadians...Victoria weekend ,..in commemoration of a Queen's birthday..one long ago dead but we still take the holiday...when growing up we called it the 24th of May weekend....now, the kids refer to it as the two four weekend...oh well...it's still a holiday....hopefully the weather will co-operate!

Have a wonderful weekend!



Friday, May 13, 2011

Blogger is annoying today.....

Good Morning...or Afternoon Company Girls!

Well, blogger took it's time fixing itself and then I had to go out for the morning so I'm just getting to it now....

I guess it's still not completely fixed cause I was going to put some pics in...but it wouldn't retrieve them....good grief.....goes with my life the last 24 hours.....

I was going to post some pics of my grand daughter Honour...last Friday she came to my house (with her siblings,) for the day...she brought this bag with some material in it...she had actually (roughly) cut out some rectangles of material...she had decided that she wanted to make a quilt for her little cousin who is due in August....I was tickled.....she had chosen different materials in different blues...cause it's a boy, don't ya know....so...we spent the day making a little quilt...perfect size to put over him in his car seat in those cold winter months, up north. I was very proud of her..she did a great job! And if blogger gets it's act together I'll post the pics sometime!

Yesterday was a good for nothing, no good horrible day......I was suppose to go out for a lovely lunch at a tea room with some ladies from our church....but one of the ladies was called out of town for a family emergency and another was stricken with a horrible asthma attack because they were having their hardwood floors redone....so, the lunch was postponed. Which, in hindsight was a good thing because the phone call I did receive at lunch time would have spoiled the lunch anyways...big time! The high school called...Emma was caught with some dope and a pipe, off campus at the strip mall across the street...some undercover police brought her and two other girls back to the school...bottom line..she wasn't charged..got off with a warning...and suspended from school til Monday. Good grief......when will it stop...

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and that the weather is fabulous...we could really use some nice, warm weather.....

take care everyone!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Happy Mother's Day...and so on...

Good Morning Company Girls!

My Mom...my mom is a very interesting lady.....she's changed a lot over the years (haven't we all!)......when I was about nine or ten...my mom told me about my birth....now, I was her second child...she had already given birth 3-1/2 years previous to my sister....she had all of us (4) about 3 years apart...she said it was perfect...she'd get the baby toilet trained and out of diapers and have sometime to enjoy that without doing the diaper thing for awhile. Good plan but I could never get my kids trained by 18 months like she could! Anyways, one day I was lounging on the couch and she was sweeping the floor in the kitchen...I don't remember how it came about but she told me all about it....how she woke up one night...it was a few weeks...about 3 I think, before my due date...she had to go to the bathroom...as pregnant women have need to do...in the night....especially close to the end...I always figured it got us into the habit so that when the babe was born we'd already be used to getting up in the night...I digress...she was going down the hall to the bathroom when she felt something trickling down her leg...well, more than a trickle...now my very proper mom had a fit (I probably would have too) cause she thought she was urinating...she got into the bathroom and found out it wasn't pee...it was blood...the ambulance was called....she was sitting on a chair, afraid to move cause she felt like everything would gush out...when she arrived at the hospital they determined that the placenta was delivering first....mom said that as she was lying there, praying she felt 'something' happening...she called for the nurse...the doctor came..they checked again...the placenta and I had switched places..even at that early age I had a problem with things and people telling me what to do...which I'm afraid has stuck with me all my life! So, instead of an emergency section they just did a very quick delivery.....my mom joked that I had to feel my way out because I came out hands first...I wonder if that's why..to this day...I'm extremely claustrophobic...hmmmm...

It didn't take them long to determine that I had a few things wrong with me.....what a shock for a young mom...today with ultrasounds at least the parents can be prepared to some degree....I could not bend my arms at the elbow, on my own...they found out why....no muscles in the upper part..well, I have the ones that are underneath the upper arm but not the ones on top....can never remember the names....and the muscles across the back of my shoulders are underdeveloped......my mom rallied and handled it well....the next 12 years brought four surgeries and copious doctor's and therapist visits....she learned to do my exercises at home and on the days that we didn't go to the hospital, she did them at home....never failed...never complained. She had a resolve that others didn't understand...she always expected that I could do something, just like everyone else...and she let me figure out how to do it..in my own way, much to the chagrin of others..the story is told of how one day an aunt, who was at the house was quite concerned when mom let me struggle for a number of minutes trying to put a t-shirt on....seemed heartless to my aunt...but my mom was wise...I figured out my own way of getting dressed, of eating, of holding a cup...of being independent.....as a mom, I realize just how hard that was for my mom to do.....my mom went on to have two more children...my brothers...which that in itself was brave...it's hard to have subsequent children after having a child with disabilities....

Now, my mom apologizes for being such a bother, for needing help with things....I figure that it's alright....she was there for me...she did so much for me.....it's my turn now.....

Happy Mother's Day, mom....you're the best!


Miss Afton is 3 years old today...Afton is my youngest grand daughter.....my eldest daughter Leslie gave birth to her..at home..(as she did with all her girls).....after a full day of labour....Afton just couldn't make up her mind about coming out! Today, her and her older siblings are at my house...mom and dad have gone to a homeschooling convention for the day....should be an interesting day...Honour and Verity have brought little sewing projects with them and some dvd's....

Last night, second eldest daughter Lauren took me to a 'makeup gala' at our local drug store (where she works).....it was a fun time...looking at all the different make up products and choosing a few...I will admit that I don't wear a lot of makeup and when I do, it's usually on special occasions or at least going out somewhere.....but I was able to get some new lip gloss and shadows, free mascara (Lauren was shuddering when I said my mascara was a year old!) and nail polish..oh, and a new lipstick too..so I'm ready for the summer months! It was a lovely Mother's Day thing to do...Thanks Lauren!

So, as usual..it's a busy time....Mother's Day, Afton's birthday, grandkids all day.....the remembrance of my dad going to heaven, tomorrow....

I hope you all have a marvellous weekend and if you are a mother, I hope your mother's day is everything that you would like...and if you aren't a mom (that's okay too) but that you remember that woman that did so much for you as you were growing up that made you the woman you are today!

Happy Mother's Day!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

This Week.....

I was reading another blog this morning and this blogger spoke about an accident in the Dallas area that took a pastor's life...he was a well known pastor, David Wilkinson.....apparently the last journal entry he made contained these words....

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, “I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain.”

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

These words got me to thinking......I keep stashing 'the elephant in the room' back into the deepest parts of my mind.......when the big gray beast would try to emerge, I would push him back.....sometimes, it flashes in my mind...just what I was doing at this time last year....Don and I were enjoying a few days in Chicago...he had a pricing conference...I went along for a few days of R and R....I had been torn about going...everyone kept saying that I needed to go....I knew my dad wasn't well....every day I would communicate with my sister, and everyday she would say he was getting better...all the physical signs indicated that was the case.

By Friday, the conference was done and Don had arranged a few days at a hotel overlooking the river in Chicago...it was a beautiful room...after we checked in we went for a walk...while we were out, the first of many texts came into my phone...texts that started a fear way down in the pit of I don't know where......until the final text came in, three hours later.....'call me'...it said.....and I knew....I knew....I showed the text to Don...wordlessly.....

He was gone....my dad was gone......'I shall know Him, I shall know Him,...by the prints of the nails in His hands'....dad was seeing those prints, those marks.......

This week has been hard....lots of things going on.....Maya is home....it's so hard when they come home after being away for awhile...they resent you doing your parenting thing...they've been without it...they think they're mature...all grown up...don't need it anymore...they get annoyed..you get stressed...you can see that their maturing still has a long way to go......they wish they were back where they were...part of you wishes that too....cause the others don't stop...Emma is falling deeper, deeper and deeper into the world that changes a soul...sometimes forever ....you despair...she thinks she's figured it all out...she can live in two worlds......she can't.....she has to make a choice...but she's young and the other world is appealing...she is not strong.....the weight on a mother's heart can be overwhelming sometimes....being a mom is not for the faint of heart that's for sure....

Mother's Day is coming...what does that truly mean to you....
if you are already a mom...it is entirely different than if you're not....Mother's Day for me is hope and expectation.....but not too much expectation....I've learned that over the years..too much expectation is a recipe for hurt...for spoiling the day....last year my mom barely realized that it was Mother's Day....I've been trying to figure out the right balance for the day....it falls on the day right after her husband of sixty-six years left her...not willingly...but he did.....dad used to make something of the day for mom...I guess over the years we disappointed her ...dad was used to filling in the gaps...with mom's dementia we have to be careful not to overwhelm her with too much.....yes, a fine balance...

So....this is what's been going on with me this week.....a friend of mine just called...her husband's name is Dave...they took him by ambulance into the hospital last night...Dave is dying..cancer has taken over his lungs ...would you pray for Dave and Carol.... thank you...

I am grateful that He is embracing me...without that...there is nothing......my hubby is a great man..a great husband..loving, supportive, encouraging, loyal, committed....but I learned a long time ago that he is only human...he can not be there for me all the time...no human can be..it is impossible....but God is...doesn't mean I still won't feel the hurt, the pain but there is One stronger than me, than my husband...than my dad.....have you experienced it, if not then I pray that someday soon you will...