Reflections on Mother's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. I am thinking about my special Mom, Grace Jacobs and my mother-in-law, Margaret Bell. What wonderful women and I was so blessed by them. My Mom was always there for me and a wonderful example of service to her family and her church and community. She especially had a heart for children and the elderly. I was always unconditionally loved by her and one of my greatest achievements will be to have earned her trust and her desire to have me with her in her final days of facing her illness. My mother-in-law welcomed me into her family and her heart and was also a wonderful example to me of faithfulness to her family and to God. She taught me a lot of finepoints about being a farmer's wife that I hadn't learned at my home because I was still busy being a kid! Whether it was gardening or raising babies, she was always a source if information if asked but always an example to me of a tactful mother-in-law who gave us love and space. Thankyou God for my mothers. It is now my on going delight to be mother and mother-in-law and grandma! I have joy and pride as I watch my daughters mothering their children and wish them and you a Happy Mother's Day.

First Sunday in new addition!

Well, I took a few pictures as people were arriving this morning. Please be aware that the color is not true. The chairs are really green and not blue and the walls are not yellow or gold, but rather a color closer to milk chocolate (not to be confused with dark chocolate) All this to tell you "Y'all come by and see us!" :-)

All is well

Well, it has been a busy week. It contained seeding, rain (smile!) and today was back to spraying out the little weeds that also like the rain. The canola plants are amost through the ground and the grass in the yard is greening up along with the dandilions. Here are a few seeding time pictures. There's a whole lot of setup before Stan gets to sit in his tractor. I'm glad he has tomorrow off. He's earned a little rest from all the busyness!

Tomorrow is the first Sunday we get to be in the new addition to our church building! The chairs came this week and it's time to move into our new space. It looks great thanks to a lot of hard work from a lot of people. The offical date of a grand opening hasn't been announced.We'll keep you posted.

Lawn ornament??

Stan was leveling the seeding equipment and decided our front lawn was level ground! I don't have this view out my front window every day! Tday the air tank was attached to this parade so hopefully he's ready to hit the field as soon as the weather allows. Happy seeding to farmers everywhere :-)

April 21st

Stephen's birthday! We can't let the day go by unnoticed. He's just too important to us! We hope you're having a happy birthday, Stephen.
The last week has been a busy one as we work on machinery getting ready to go seeding. A few have started seeding things like field peas and lentils, but we'll be starting with Canola and aren't in as big a rush. It has been cold, even the weeds haven't started growing. There is so little water around this year. There is even talk that our well may have a hard time supplying the three households on the farm this year. I don't do a lot of watering anyway, but I do enjoy the "nicities" of a washing machine,dishwasher and showers. The automatic machines can be a little demanding. I guess the best plan if our well is low is to haul a load of water and add it to the well, that way, all the pipes still haul water to each house. We had a skiff of snow out of what had been forcast as a major system. We'll keep praying for water.

Two weeks!

Yes, Stan had the use of the vacuum bandage for two weeks and the improvement was great! as we had hoped. We were to Regina to see his surgeon yesterday and Dr. C. decided that two weeks had been enough time. The rented machine is on it's way back to Edmonton. There will still be minimal bandaging necessary but the healing is going well and Stan is glad not to be carrying "the purse" out to the workshop and around the farm as he prepares machinery for seeding. Thanks for the prayers and concern.

Aunt Violet Bell

We were sad to hear that one of our favorite Aunts has passed away this morning. We will miss her so much. We had been to visit Bill and Vi in their new condo in the last few weeks and had enjoyed our visit, as usual! Our sympathy to their family and so many friends. Here are three of my favorite pictures. First of Bill and Vi in their old house working in the kitchen together and the next looking comfy in their new place. (Click on photo with mouse to enlarge it)

Update: I just heard from the family that Auntie Vi's funeral will be on Thursday April 3rd at 6:30 pm at the Weyburn Church of Christ.

Misson Accomplished!

We have returned from Regina with Stan hooked up to his $33,000 bandage. I kid you not!! The machine, which is the size of a lady's handbag and weighing in at about 4 pounds has a price tag of $33,000. A couple of years ago they were $16,000. The good news is that they are holding an inservice on Monday to teach nurses etc. in this health unit how to use them and Stan gets to be the model.The Five Hills Health Unit rents the machine from the company out of Edmonton and it gets returned when we are finished with it. Hopefully it will work it's magic in about 3 weeks instead of months. We also hope that when the need arises, it will be made available to others who need this kind of treatment, too! We return to Regina again in 2 weeks so his doctor can monitor the progress. We are very grateful for this opportunity.

Good visit with Dr. C

Well, I think the appointment went maybe even better than I was expecting. The infection appears to be under control, however, they will not be restitching the surgery site. The wound needs to heal from the inside out. We had requested the vacuum bandage and although our health unit prefers not to use them for several rea$$$$$$$$$$$$$ons, it sounds like some people have gone to bat for us and it is likely Stan will have it put on possibly next Thurs. when he has another appointment with the Regina surgeon. This bandage has worked so well for Stan before that we are so grateful to have it used again. It changes healing time from a couple of months to two or three weeks! Thankyou, God, for good things today!

Spoke too soon......(and added update)

Well, we've had a bit of a disappointment following Stan's surgery last week. Infection has disturbed healing. Our local Dr. has been working on getting it under control with Intraveous Antibiotic 3 times a day and daily irrigation and bandage change. We are hoping it looks better and that we are making progress by tomorrow, if not, we are on a road trip back to our plastic surgeon in Regina for followup surgery. Stan has "farming on his mind" as it is Spring around here and this is no doubt and unwelcome developement. We'd appreciate your prayers again.

Wednesday afternoon: We have a Thursday morning appointment in Regina with our plastic surgeon who will evaluate what bandage is needed next and make any adjustments to the affected area. The infection seems to be under control, however, the incision has not been restitched and it will take some time to heal the area. We're hoping to convince them to use the vacuum bandage again. We hope to understand better after tomorrow's appointment.

Update on our "Little People"

I am just amazed how fast a year has gone and more amazed at how much Linaya and Josiah have figured out in such a short time. They are both walking with great determination and communictaing very well with new words and signing! Little Josiah has been here a few days and is so calm as he signs to tell us "please", "thankyou", "more", "I'm done" and his own signs of "take me outside to see the dog"! He calls anything with wheels a "Go!" (You may know the Dr. Seuss book "Go Dog, Go"?) He makes me laugh with his cheery little giggles and smile. Linaya is such a little "girl". She loves to feed her dolls from the bottles that you tip up and the milk and juice disappear!, wraps them up and "mothers" them! She loves pretty colors, touching flowers and knows what clothes she like to wear. She will make a fun big sister!
We just marvel at what "neat" little people they have become and just can't love them enough! Thankyou, God, for Grandchildren! What a great idea!! Thanks, too, Roy and Monica, Robert and Melissa as we see you doing such a good job of teaching them and loving them.

Ah, March 12th is over!

Well, the appointment with Dr. Chang is now behind us. Stan went into Regina General on Wednesday and had some surgery as out patient with Dr. Chang who had done his original skin grafting. Hopefully, Stan will be more comfortable when the stitches come out in 2 weeks and will have a little more range of motion with his right arm after the "release" procedure has healed. I had really been dreading the thought so Melissa and Josiah walked the hallways and visited me while Stan was in surgery. Josiah is a sweet diversion and we read books and he caught a nap on Grandma's shoulder and we had a lovely time together! Thanks for you consideration. I appreciated you so much. Robert, Melissa and Josiah came home with us until Sunday so it has been such a nice visit. I have been fighting a terrible cold and tried not to pass it along to Stan and mess up his surgery schedule! So far he hasn't got it but I feel like I've been taking a double dose. SIGH.

The way we were...

Neita and I were looking at this photo the last day we were together and LOVING IT.
What wonderful times we shared at Manson. Here's who you're seeing. Back row is Doris Muller, Lorna Jacobs, Leila Andreas (visiting) and Neita Elford. Next row is LaWanda Jacobs, Shelley Jacobs and me, Maxine Bell (then Jacobs) Ohhhhhhh, the way we were. Thankyou God for our connection! Neita passed away on Sunday morning. We'll miss our dear friend.

"Memories light the corners of my mind,
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were.
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were.
Can it be that it was all so simple then??
or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again,
Tell me, would we? could we?
Memories, may be beautiful and yet
what's too painful to remember
we simply choose to forget
SO... it is the laughter we will remember
whenever we remember the way we were!"

Update: A Memorial service for Neita Elford will be held on March 5 at 2 pm at the Regina Funeral Home, Highway #1 East. You will find the book of condolences at www.regina-memorial.ca

"Not at this address"

Well, we made it back to Moosomin yesterday for Ruthanne's funeral.. It was a wonderful celebration of her life, her purpose, her faith and her dedication to family and friends. Her story indeed brings glory to God, even in a life that seemed so unfair in suffering such a lengthy illness. It was a sweet moment to be in the presence of longtime friends and church family, but there was a gaping hole where I would expect to see the "always present familiar faces" The most recent on that list are of course, my parents, Uncle Gilbert and Ruthanne!! Gone are the Rogers and the Mullers of my parents generation, Ed and Helen Elford... All parts of my fabric of childhood stability in a community of church family that made me safe and loved while I grew up there. Neita and I were reflecting on our time as children in the Manson area and how blessed we were to call it Home. Well, we know where they are! The envelope would read "not at this address" Another HOME waiting for us all. They are still my family. They are still part of who I am. I am still blessed by them.

Summer revisited

Hi there. Since my last blog, Stan and I made a snap decision to get in on some of those seat sales and in less than a week had booked a holiday and flown away to Mexico. We stayed by the Caribean Sea near Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The green and growing things just do my heart good. We love to walk along the water edge and look at the amazing colors of the sea. It was a very peaceful holiday. I was a wonderful time to regenerate in the sun and then time to come home to work to be done. Time away did not erase the sadness going on for loved ones that are facing serious illness. Please continue to pray for my friend, Neita and her family and for Ruthanne and her family. Both are in need of our prayers for strength, courage and comfort.

Happy New Year!

Here it is 2008. "I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year; "Give me a Light that I may tread safely into The Unknown" and he replied "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than Light, and safer than the known way" (from the King's Message, December 25, 1939.)

We were blessed and encouraged to be together as a family over the holidays. Stephen is back in Oklahoma, we are back on the farm and the Saskatoon family is back to work and the next year has begun! I indeed feel that the safest place is with my hand in the hand of God and I ask him to bless you, my friends, with his presence in the new year.

While in Saskatoon we celebrated Stan and Josiah's birthdays on Dec. 28. Monica did a great job in decorating the tractor cake. We enjoyed a fun afternoon at the swimming pool and waterside before the new year's eve party with Rob,Diane and their family and others. What a great time!,what a busy time, now we all need a few days to rest up.

Greetings from the Bell family!!

Well, it is December 26th and there is a hush over the house. We had a great time. It looked like FisherPrice blew up in our living room when the presents got opened, but that's what happens when a zoo and a barnyard arrive at the same time! We had our Christmas dinner with all our family on the 24th and a smaller version on Dec. 25th when Gerry and Lorna joined us. The babies had their first sleigh ride around the farm and Josiah even joined the big kids tobogganing down the big hill on Christmas day. I think he's pretty brave for a 1 year old! I'm sure the girls will have some great pics on their blogs soon so I'll just post a couple. I hope you have had a happy time with family too. We are so blessed to be surrounded by people we love!

Are we decorated for Christmas???

"... and the baseboards were removed with the greatest of care
in hopes that the painters soon would be there!"

Well, we've never been this close to having our house repainted before! so I guess all progress is good. This should be the week!? Meanwhile, I can glance in my living room to do inventory on what we own that is usually hanging on other walls in other parts of the house. It has been fun to get things worked on, but it will be great to have a spot for things again before the family is home.

Meanwhile, over at the addition to the churchbuilding. It is lookin' good as the carpet is down, the lights are up and the chairs are being ordered for the main room. I'll post some pictures when it's done!

We were up to Saskatoon last week to see family and this week is a family reunion of sorts with the Walter and Hannah Bell family as we meet them all in Weyburn on Thursday for Aunt Hannah's funeral. Their farm had been 1/2 mile east of here and Stan's family and theirs had spent a lot of time back and forth while they were growing up.

Rider pride??

Well, not to be left behind by our rider fans in the family, we have embraced the Grey Cup Game as an excuse to have supper with friends and neighbors and buy new shirts!! We had fun and enjoyed a pleasant evening.

Stan is busy hauling grain to the elevator and things may actually be starting to wind down on the farm. We look forward to having a slower pace and the temperature starts to drop and the snow line will start to increase.

We have been doing a little "polishing up" around the house and the last couple of days we have been walking around with little stips of paint colors playing the "imagine this a whole wall!" game. I think whatever "colors" we choose will be fun as we built in the era of beige and brown. Someone said those colors will soon be back. Can it be true?? Did we wait to long??? No - can't be!

Hello again

It's nice to have nothing pressing to write about, but it's a little boring for the randon readers,but... Normal is good!:-) Stan keeps busy getting fall work caught up. Our next big planned family event will be to have Stephen fly home for a couple of weeks at Christmas. Our Saskatoon family was home on the weekend following Kathy Bell's marriage to Joe in Moose Jaw last Sat. (It was a beautiful wedding and we wish them happiness as a family. Kathy also becomes Mom to Mykayla, who is ten.)

Linaya and Josiah change so much between visits that they constantly surprise us. We keep asking ourselves "Did our kids used to do that???" How cute they are! Josiah caught the flu and spent and extra two days here before they thought he was road worthy. They have so much fun with each other and the toys and have started exploring the house. They also like to be talked to on the phone!

LaWanda tells me there is talk of a JACOBS reunion next summer, so if that means you, keep posted. It will probably be in Regina the end of June.