puzzling

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Rick was working on a project for the kidlets. He got them done & presented them to our little angels on Sunday. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but each piece of the jungle scene is a puzzle of it's own & they are all interchangeable on the stand. A very ingenious, intricate wood craft which they were very happy to receive & immediately try out!
You do good work, Grandpa!

for Gord, Bev, Ger, Shirley & families

We know that you would have loved to be with us yesterday, so I just want to show you a bit of what happened. We were a little late to think of pictures of the actual dinner (what with getting it on the table & eating) but it was all very tasty as usual. In the first pictures you see us enjoying the yummy cheesecakes that Cindi & Christine made.
After dinner we did a bit of carol singing; so enjoyable with the kids all gathered around to sing the songs that are becoming familiar to them! I think you can see the delight in the faces of the adults too.
Olivia read the Christmas story from her children's bible - we've found that's the best way to keep the kids from being bored.
We had fun giving & receiving gifts - the picture of Mom & Dad shows them opening the gift that we all went together on - they were pleased with what we had done!
It was fun to host the family festivities for the first time at our house. Wonder who's place we'll be at next year?
Merry Christmas, dear family!

Christmas Concert

This past sunday, three of our five beautiful grandchildren were involved in our church's morning services. As you can see, their daddy was leading worship as well - great photo op!
Malcolm was a little distracted by the paparazzi, but he came through when it was time to perform. He is our constant entertainer.
Sabrina sang her heart out! I was videoing her & she sang right to me the whole time. She is truly our little singer; always a song on her lips & in her heart.
Olivia sang with the big kids choir & was very focused - what a beautiful little lady she is! With her years of dancing, she is becoming our seasoned performer.
I am truly a blessed grandma (& wife, mother, sister, daughter)

gettin' ready for Christmas

The hands of the master craftsman at work on a project for the kidlets. I'd love to show the finished product to you, but that's going to have to wait until later.

We made alot of yummy treats this afternoon - shortbread, peanutbutter balls, & jam jams. Here are the girls hard at work putting the baby jams together...

...and while the big kids are busy & the mommies are distracted with other projects, Isaiah spots an opportunity too good to pass up!

That little cookie didn't stand a chance. Doesn't he look pleased with himself? And Grandma was cheering him on all the way!!!
If you look closely, you can see the jam on his forehead - I'm guessing this wasn't his first encounter with those little cookies. :)

trick or treat

We had alot of visitors tonight, but these five were our favorites...

...can you see why?

Blessed

What a faithful God have I

What a faithful God!

What a faithful God have I

You are faithful in every way!

!

Counting my many blessings this morning...

and thanking God for each one!!!

Comforted to comfort

"There is a comfort, born in other's prayers, that always lifts the spirit, strengthens the will, and sets the heart on fire for God."

This is what I read this morning, and it is so timely & appropriate to my life today. Yesterday was Rick's 18 month checkup at the Cancer Clinic. 6 months ago, at his last checkup, the news was not what we had expected and consequently yesterday's appointment had been looming in our apprehensive minds. We knew people were praying & that, with God's help, we would handle whatever the news was, but I have to admit that I was not very spiritual in my worry.

I'm so relieved & grateful to be able to report that yesterdays appointment revealed the news that PSA level is down (that's good) & where it should be at this point in his treatment. There was much rejoicing - and tears, definitely alot of tears on my part.

This journey of cancer is not one we would have chosen, but perhaps because of it we will be able to have a better ministry of encouragement to others needing comfort. My heart has been softened. It's always been soft, so it must be bordering on mushy. :)

"It's hard to think beyond our own needs when trouble hits home, but the comfort we receive from God will be just the comfort others are waiting for."

I want you, our friends & family, to know that I have been reminded of my need to uphold you in prayer, particularly those of you who have special concerns or deep burdens. I pray God comforts you in a very tangible way.

Autumn has always been my least favorite season. I'm starting to kind of like it. It's like the wind is blowing fresh life. Go figure!

Sand Castles

Last week I had to take a bus load of kids to Harrison so they could look at the sand castles. I had to spend 3 "tough" hours waiting around for them. It was a beautiful warm sunny day so I took a few pictures of some of the amazing sand castles.

our garden

I should probably call this Rick's garden to give credit where credit is due. We're particularly proud of the bougainvillea, climatis, and the stunning lily. The vegies are doing well too, but they're not as pretty.

Surprise!

On my last post, I was lamenting the fact that the Sea to Sky was closed and we'd be taking the long route to Whistler for our summer vacation week.
Not so! We woke up Sunday morning to the news that the highway had been cleared and reopened.
Great rejoicing ensued, not to mention a much more leasurely morning than we had anticipated.
We had a lovely drive up on a nearly deserted highway & arrived in record time.

Lets play a little game of "where's Rick".
Yup, that's him, the first one at the pool (every morning to save me the best spot for laying out)
All we had to do was turn our lounges a bit every hour, and we had sun until we'd had enough for the day. And let me tell you, that blue sky you see was there everyday until Saturday.
LOVED IT!!!

This little squirrel (don't know if you can make him out) was SO busy getting his breakfast up into the tree so he could enjoy it in peace. Sadly, no sooner had he begun munching, he dropped it. Here he's looking down at it. Can you see the forlorn look on his face?

When I wasn't busy laying on the lounge reading one of many books, I was enjoying my new floatie in the pool. If you can make out the time on the clock, you'll see it's 11:30. We often had the pool pretty much to ourselves until early or mid afternoon. So peaceful & relaxing. One of the books I read was The Shack. I've rarely been so affected by a book & I highly recommend it!

Our week away was solely for the purpose of rest & relaxation & we devoted ourselves to that purpose (and very little else).
I didn't even do any shopping.
Well, except for the first day, but that was only because we had an hour to fill until our condo was ready. :)

The sky on the drive home was not so blue, but the view from the sea to sky is always phenomenal.
We felt totally rested when we got home.
Good thing, because that evening my stepmom had a health incident that shook up our world. She is doing much better already, but we still have some medical testing ahead. Please pray for Anne, as she desires to be able to continue to be the companion and caregiver that she is to Dad.
Then, just to totally bring me back to reality, on Monday morning I got the news that my jobshare partner gave her notice, and will be gone Aug 22.
Anyone out there looking for a fabulous - three days a week - office job?
I'm serious!

Awesome!

Have you heard about the rockslide on the Sea to Sky highway? How it's going to be closed for quite awhile?

Guess where we booked our vacation, starting this Sunday?

Yup.

Guess we're going on a longer road trip!

We got a new camera - should have some pictures for you when we get back.

Six!

Olivia turned six today. I was honored to be at her birth & it feels like such a short time ago - time really does fly! This little girl is the smartest, most sensitive & beautiful six year old I know. I might be a little biased, but I'm sure there are alot who would agree with me.

One of the things she had on her birthday list (which she printed herself) was a bird house that she could decorate. Of course, Grandpa was most happy to oblige because he loves her (and he loves wood projects). The roof is not actually pink - apparently there is a problem with our camera because all our pictures lately are decidedly pinkish.

Here's Liv with her new (not pink) bike...

...and a repeat from the previous post, cause I like it.

Happy birthday, Olivia. We love you SO much & are proud of what a wonderful girl you are.

Golden Ears Park

Our kids all went camping together this weekend. They invited us to join them and since sleeping on the ground doesn't appeal to me anymore, we drove up saturday morning & spent the day with them. We had never been to Golden Ears before - what a beautiful park it is! The weather was less than stellar, but the kids didn't care. Here's Grandpa & the little ones checking out a crawly bug.

We took a little hike down to the lake in the morning & enjoyed some time on an empty beach. Good thing we went early, because we had rain all afternoon. During & after lunch everyone got wet, and when it got too cold, we spent some quality time in Cindi & Dobby's tent trailer (see us all crammed in there?)
Olivia got an early birthday present - you can see her working on her photography with her new camera.
We had a "who can hit that far buoy with a rock" contest. After a little trash talk (by me - and ya, talk is all I did) I think Greg won that contest.
Malcolm is enjoying having someone smaller than him who he can be of assistance to - see him sharing his granola bar with Isaiah?
The tarp picture doesn't tell the story; lets just say it didn't go well.
The skies sort of cleared around suppertime & Sabrina & Noah got the dishes done in record time.

In spite of the rain, we had a good time enjoying nature & each other.

Canada Day Parade

We joined the community in Abbotsford on July 1st to watch the parade. The kids were excited - tattooed & decked out in red & white, & the mommys had packed lots of snacks & drinks (and wipes),. The weather was perfect!

Malcolm was alot less excited when the parade started with every firetruck in town - sirens wailing! Isaiah, on the other hand, loved them!

Once they had passed, the morning was much more enjoyable.

I like the picture with grandpa & the two biggest boys walking hand in hand, still checking out all the sights.

fun at the waterpark

Okay, maybe it was just our backyard, but the kids had loads of fun this afternoon. Slippin' & slidin', climber set up so the slide ends in the pool, throwing water balloons, chasing Grandpa with the water blaster - it doesn't take much water to make for a good time!

We were actually looking for shade this afternoon; this was all after my girls & me (with some help from the young uns) made 19 batches of freezer strawberry jam. I should have taken a picture of all those jars; it was pretty impressive.

The last picture in the collage is Isaiah showing Auntie Cindi his new thumb. It's looking really good & healing well. Thanks for praying!

So awhile back I complained about the lack of consecutive sunny days & the slowness of summer to arrive. I'm not complaining anymore. :-)

Yay, Zay!

This little trooper had his thumb surgery this morning @ Childrens' Hospital, & I had the priviledge of accompanying him, Becky & Noah. Becky will post more about it (no pressure, Beck) but I just wanted to let you all know that he came through beautifully. We'll see the result when the bandages come off in a few days. Thanks for your prayers, keep them going for quick healing. I love this little guy!

Summer starts tomorrow?

Seriously, am I the only one who thinks we're long overdue for some consistent sunshine? It's June 19th and I'm wearing a hoodie. IN THE HOUSE! Aaargh...
Ah well, life goes on. We are enjoying the odd pleasant evening huddled around our chiminea (munching on ooey, gooey smores) Nothing says "sticky" like a grandchild covered in warm, chocolatey marshmellow.


The following picture illustrates the speed with which summer is approaching :-(

I spent some time this morning trying to find an inexpensive vacation destination for our first-in-a-long-time summer week off together in August. No luck so far. Anyone have any ideas (that don't involve a plane trip or two days of driving)? If we end up staying home, I won't complain (much). They say a change is as good as a rest. And I am not high maintenance.
I'm NOT! ;)