Summer Days!

We just returned from camping with family and friends at Palliser Provincial Park, Riverhurst. We had connecting campsites and a family size table in the middle. It came complete with bunnies and squirrels to amuse the kids and cute kids to amuse the adults! We were missing Stephen, but he comes north to visit for a week in August. We enjoyed the sandy shore of Lake Deifenbaker and spent hot days cooling off wading in the water. Here are a few fun pictures of the family. We were joined by Lynn and Emma Orr and Rob and Diane Waddell and their kids. We used the deisel truck to pack up all the gear we believed necessary. We had retired Warren's 1.4million kilometer truck to the farm and decided it was time to take it on vacation :-)

Sunny days

Here we are, July 2nd! Time has been flying by and it will be harvest before we know. It has been an eventful summer already. We have had beautiful rain to make the crop and countryside a lovely shade of green! The heat has come now so we're hoping it doesn't dry up this crop before it's ready. We're not spraying chickpeas every 7-10 days this summer so it had feels like we actually have a "little breather" between seeding and harvest.

We have been to Saskatoon a couple of times to check on our family. We are waiting on two new babies. Monica and Roy in Oct and Melissa and Robert in February. We are enjoying Linaya and Josiah SO much. They just make us smile!!! Josiah is among the small percentage of kids who gets seizures with a sudden fever so we just hate it for him when that happens. The good news is that he has had the tests to assure everyone that it's nothing serious that he won't grow out of, but it's still not pleasant.

Our family is going camping this week so that should be a good "photo opp". We're meeting on the shores of Lake Deifenbaker and will have a family group of about 6 tents for a few days. Stephen doesn't get in on it this time as he's arriving home for a visit in August.

We have seen two fireworks displays. Good ol' Shamrock park still is our favorite! We are so grateful to live in Canada. It is worth celebrating!!!

Mountain top experiences!

We just returned from Banff where we watched our niece, Leanne, marry Jason in the meadow on Tunnel Mountain. It had been raining but our bride was blessed as the weather took a little turn and the wedding continued as she had believed it would!
This is the picture of"Leanne the Welder" who works with Allan, her Dad and "Leanne the Bride"! Here's the picture of Allan and Jeanette followed by the picture of Alvan and Trisha as we went hiking. (Yes, they're still identical twins!!)
It was wonderful linger in Banff an extra day and hike Johnson Canyon with Alvan and Tisha. The picture of Stan on this blog had been taken there and it was wonderful to be back there again. We also took the gondola up the mountain in Banff and spent a little time in the hot pool on Sulpur Mountain before the rain came again.
It was great to be able to spend some time with family and celebrate with them!

My favorite "little people"

Here are a couple of pics of time spent with Linaya and Josiah. They are so sweet and so much fun as they are busy learning how to talk and express themselves. You can't tease me about being a grandma! I love the word and love the honor!

Taking things to another level!

Well, we spent a couple of days in Saskatoon while Stan was involved in helping Melissa and Robert take a roof off their house and add a second floor. What an amazing thing to watch. Robert and his Dad spent a lot of time working out the fine details of retrofitting their house to make it warmer with thicker walls etc. for better heat control and hatched the plan of stretching the house up a floor. I got to spend wonderful Grandma time with Linaya and Josiah as well as time with my girls. I also saw what happens when a lot of friends and family come over to help and get fed in the backyard! Good job, Melissa. Again, quite a lot of planning required and executed beautifully! Here are a couple of interesting shots!

Pool Party!

Well, we had a wonderful weekend full of kids and fun! Monica and Melissa brought Linaya and Josiah along with Diane and baby Patience. We were visited by Nicole and daughter, Becca as well as little cousin, Ariana from next door and her Mom and Dad. The deck turned into a splash zone around the wading pool with two toddlers swings and bubbles moving through the air. It was great to have all those fun sounds of babies. Today, a heavy silence! I put the toys back and the extra chairs away and look forward to the next visit :-)
On the farming side, Stan finished seeding on Saturday night, so we are so pleased to have the crop in the ground. Now we're ready for some rain.

Wonders and miracles

Yesterday was a special day for the family of Aunt Muriel Jacobs as her ashes were returned from B.C. to be placed by her husand, Earl, in Moose Jaw. It seems like we have all been together a lot lately. The truth is, from now on, I know that life will be a series of goodbyes and it is a wonderful thing to know that God is real and heaven is our destination. In the setting of sharing memories and saying goodbye to someone we all love, there was little miracle among us. I got to hold baby Becca! If God could hand you a smile to make your day, it is on this little girl. Baby Becca has quite a story. She was born 15 weeks early weighing about a pound! and is such a beautiful little girl. God wants her here. Every little inch of her has fought for the right and she is now 9 months old and 10 pounds of wonder! NeoIntensive care in Saskatoon does good work. Seeing a baby at a time of mourning always lifts my heart. It says to me that there is a season for each of us and that life continues. Here is another little life looking for her path. May God bless Mom and baby and may I always remember to enourage them!

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.