Christmas 2010

Here it is, Christmas morning and all is too calm. I'll really feel like it's Christmas in a couple of days when the family is home. We just got home from seeing Stephen and attending his grad in Oklahoma. We had a great visit! This will be the first year without him at Christmas but I know he is in good company in Oklahoma and he had been home with Cara for 10 days in October. We'll still miss him with us.

It as been a very long time since I wrote on blog and I am still surprised at how many people still say they check on us to see how things are going. It has been four summers since we connected with blogging as we shared Stan's progress during his fight with "the disease". Just recently Stan has begun the process of having a tissue expander inserted and we have begun a weekly procedure of adding saline to expand a bag under his skin that resembles a large sub sandwich. This was to happen for about three months and then surgery to repair the scared area under his arm for more mobility. After this was started, the plasic surgeon told us that there had been a meeting of medical powers that have just reduced his operating room time to half and have given it to Orthopedic Surgery. I guess that's good news for people waitiing for hips and knees, but not such good news for us. It may be August or after harvest before they can get him in and he will have the inconvienience of having a growth on his chest and in his way as we work. It seems to me that they didn't fix the problem of waiting lists, they just shuffled the pile of papers! We will pray for things to work out with earlier surgery in mind.

I guess the next update is that we have booked an auction sale of April 10,2012. We have purchased an acreage on the south side of Saskatoon. It is a beautiful home and on fourteen acres in a very quiet area. We get possession April 1st and Monica and Roy will be living there for a least a year until we make the move. We have our inputs purchased and will farm for another year. This will be a big change in our life but have decided that we wouldn't be farming forever so this is the time. We have left loopholes so we could get out of our sale if "grain goes up to $15.00 a bushel and we just can't quit" (Stan's quote)

Happy New Year to you in 2011. We pray for Peace in your life and God's presence as we all face the things unknown ahead of us.

Sweet Moment!

 

This is the greatest joy, to have your family all together at once. We all had big smiles because we were done harvest, too! We would have rather been done about a month earlier, but we were blessed to have our crop planted and to have taken off an abundant harvest.

Happy birthday, Gianna!

 

Gianna is two years old today. We got to share her purple carebear cake with her ahead of time on the farm when the family was all together, including Uncle Stephen!and Cara. What a great time we had.

Summer 2010

Well. I just checked our weather station and we have had 11.51 inches of rain so far this year. Wow. I think about 6 inches is normal for us. I haven't been watering my garden and flowers very much. Our crops are growing well, but every storm makes you hold your breath hoping there is no hail damage. I don't think I can hold my breath until after harvest!

We have had family around to visit after their 10k runs in the Moose Jawg on July 1st. I'm so proud of Roy, Monica, Melissa and Robert! I had the fun of entertaining the grandkids and a few other little friends and relatives while that happened. It may turn into a yearly event. We got away to Cypress Hills for a couple of days with Robert, Melissa, Josiah and Abby. Is it fun to go to a favorite spot with Grandkids that used to be the camping spot with our little kids. How sweet it is! We have never seen the hills so green. It is just south of Maple Creek that had the major flooding. We went on into Medicine Hat to visit my brother, Allan and have lunch with his family. We took a little time to try out his little tractor creations. We had a lot of fun checking out a few of his fleet of tractors.

For now we are busy getting fungicide sprayed on our crops so all this rain and humidity doesn't take them down. As usual, I look forward to harvest. If it ever stops raining, we will be harvesting, durum wheat, canola and chickpeas. I have sadness for those people affected by all the rain. We are blessed by the beauty around us and continue to pray for good health and the energy to appreciate the abundance of another growing season.

The empty nest!

 

 

 

Well, the time has come. I was away for two days and thought I would have missed flight school for the baby robins. I looked out this morning to see the last little robin gripping the railing of our deck, Mom come to feed him there and then he flew back to the tree. Good job! The nest is empty and it's time for a new hobby. I hope you enjoyed this little session of bird watching with me.

Most recent, Sunday afternoon

 

 

We need a bigger nest!!!!

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the nest is getting pretty crowded. Mom still manages to sit balanced on the top when it's raining or as protection but she's running out of room, too. I finally caught a picture of Momma and Pappa as they both bring food and scold me from a nearby tree when I'm on the deck doing a photo shoot. I have enjoyed my little birds very much. I expect to see them on their way very soon.

One week!

 

I took this picture in the morning sunlight. It has been fun tracking these little robins over the past week. What a change. Both parents bring food now to keep up with the hungry little ones. Their feathers are less fuzz.

Newest pics cont'd

 

 

My babies are growing...

 

 

 

 

These new pics were taken over the last few days. I had a couple of bird watchers stop by to share the view. The last pictures show a larger, hungrier baby and wing feathers have shown up! I'm thinking I'll be going through the "empty nest" syndrom very soon!

and then there were THREE

 

 

 

 

Beauty in the eye of the beholder...

 

 

 

Beautiful Springtime !

It is a beautiful day in Southern Saskatchewan and the tractors are humming..or droning..or whatever sound they make. There is a meadowlark on top of every road sign and the first dandilions are smiling. What a great day. Isn't it funny how fast we forget snow? Even the endless clouds and drizzle have faded from my memory and I'm just in the mood to enjoy the beauty of now. Have a great day everyone.

It just got better! A robin is building her nest right outside my living room window in my Thunderchild. I'll be able to watch her from the deck. Nice!

Floyd Jacobs

 

Another special man in my life has gone Home. I recall being with Uncle Floyd and Aunt Marion in their home in Willen, Manitoba and spending time with them in their home after they relocated to North Weyburn to work for Western Christian College. To be with them was such a joy! Each of my kids had their after grad party in their house in Dauphin, Manitoba and we have always been an extension of their family. I will miss the little twinkle in his eye and hugs. Another lesson in appreciating those we love and regrets about too few visits too far apart. Thanks for your love for all these years, Uncle Floyd. I miss you.

Gianna and the sheep dog!

 

It is March!

It has been such a long time since I wrote on the blog. I welcome the days getting longer. Last evening was my first after supper walk and it felt so familiar. Ahh. This morning is one of the few that hasn't been foggy! The soft glow of sunrise on the snow makes a pretty picture. We were away for a week from Feb.7th through Feb.14th. We were at Negril which is on the west end of Jamaica. We had a wonderful time or relaxing and taking in scenery we haven't seen before. We enjoyed the snorkeling and hobie craft sailing. It does my heart good to see such green leaves and beautiful flowers in the winter! It feels like a different world. You know that somewhere there is still snow. Somewhere there is a list of things to be done to get ready for seeding. We got home in time for me to attend Ladies Retreat at Kenosee Lake. What a wonderful weekend of being with old friends and meeting new ones. The theme was about letting God Lead Us. It is always a blessing to be there. I love the times of singing and enjoying the snowy park. Jamaica is excited about their sunset but I must say, our "living skies" of Saskatchewan seem to me of equal or greater beauty :-) Good to be home. I am now anxiously waiting for family home at Easter. That makes my heart sing.

Happy New Year from the Bells

Hi there. I'll not post too much tonight except to wish you all a happy and healthy new year. We have been blessed by having our family home with us and we enjoyed a wonderful time together. We appreciated Robert and Melissa bringing home their photography equipment to update our family photos. We are happy to show you how much all the little ones have grown. They were sweet last year and even sweeter now :-)