Pics as promised

We found "summer" just 4 1/2 hours south!!!

We had a wonderful time in Mexico. The weather was consistently great and we ate indoors only 3 times all week. We were out on the ocean checking out the whales in migration, walking miles of sandy beaches, watching a few palm trees swaying, hiking back through Mexican villages to see waterfalls, eating interesting food! and soaking up the warmth with care not to bring home a sunburn. We loved it!!! There were times that I would be overwhelmed with gratitude that we could be sharing such a happy time together and would sometimes flash back to some sobering times. God is good. Stan is well and ready to take on more springtime preparations.We came home to our family from Saskatoon down to visit. That is as much fun as the trip. Our babies are doing great! I'll try post a couple of pics to show some of the wonderful sights.
We are happy to be home. :-)

All is calm...

Not much to tell in the way of updates. We had a nice time in Saskatoon, one of our shorter visits. The kiddos are growing and doing great. Josiah had good news today that he no longer needs his oxygen. Hurray! unattached!! It is so much fun to see how these little people change in such a short time. We look forward to having them home to the farm and starting our own family routines with them. I must admit I have updated the toys so I'll be ready for our little ones to come to play.

Stan has been very busy hauling out the last crop of chickpeas and lining up seed and fertilizer for spring. He is trying to get at the farm books. Maybe if this snow gets a little thicker and the weather stays cold, he will be inspired to stay indoors and keep plugging away. I have a quilt I'm stitching on in the basement. I had started it last year after a friend passed away and it just seems like a good time to finish off and start new projects. All is well. :-)

Pictures next time :-)

For Josiah

For Josiah

His fingers ar so tiny, so marvelously perfect.
Soon they will reach out to touch
the smiling faces of everyone around him...

These little hands will explore, discover,
and bring the world to him for his inspection and delight.

With these hands he will throw balls,
capture bugs, and build castles in the sand.

He will use them to open books
and unlock the doors to knowledge.

These are the hands that may someday sculpt, make music,
or cuddle children of his own.

His hands are so tiny now,
and yet within them lie the future and the fulfillment
of all his precious dreams.

So hold him gently and watch with pride
as he reaches out in love and joy to all of life.

(Tonight is Josiah's baby shower and I found this verse on a card.
Photo of Josiah by Aunt Monica! not Melissa as previously posted)

Wonderful quote!

"When we come to the edge of all the light we have
And we must take a step into the darkness of the unkown,
We must believe one of two things:
Either we will find something firm to stand on
Or we will be taught to fly."

(Author unknown but from a wonderful little book called "Spirit of Gentleness")

Amen!! I believe this to be true. Notice in either case GOD HAS YOU COVERED!
Have a great day. Maxine :-)

...and all is well

It's one of those moments you just want to sit quiet and observe! The 18th marked 6 months since Stan had his surgery. His healing, although not swift, has been at a steady pace and I think ahead of what we may have even expected. There is still a daily bandage change that takes minutes instead of an hour (like in the days of homecare and vaccu bandage)Stan has been diligent at his physio and has regained so much! It will take time to build up the stamina and his work days may not be quite as long and vigorous as preparing for last Spring. We thank God for his goodness in restoring him.

We were to Regina to visit Elford Bell yesterday and he also is made of good stuff! He is recovering well from his knee replacement and is getting around with a walker already. Hopefully he will be in his home in Gravelbourg on Monday. He is in good spirits.

The newest members of the family are both doing well. Josiah has been busy meeting his "village" of people since he got home from hospital. Linaya looks like she'll be getting around pretty soon! Take care!!

Home to Josiah's house!

Yes, Josiah finally got to move into his house!! Mom will be the one running the oxygen for as long as it takes, but I know they will do fine. Stay tuned to their blog for updates. I had to post this picture of little Josiah. When he is awake, he is very awake and has a look of surprise. "I'm going where???"

His greatgrandpa Elford Bell had a knee replacement at the Pasqua Hospital, Regina this morning. We talked to Ruby a short while ago and she reports the surgery went well. They are, however, having a difficult time controlling the pain as the Morphine dropped his blood pressure. Everything stablized when they took him back off the morphine and they are trying other means of pain control. Please pray for Dad and his recovery.

Soon, Very soon!

I haven't accomplished very much today as I have been waiting for the phone to ring regarding Josiah. Melissa finally called with the news we were hoping for. They are headed home very soon. She is able to look after his oxygen at home so the doctors have agreed that he might as well be cozy there waiting for these little lungs to clear. Hurray!!! They will all be happier there. Check out roborr.com if you haven't found them already. :-)

Safe at home

Hi there! We're back at home after a lovely visit in Saskatoon with the kids and grandkids. "Our" little Josiah is STILL in hospital as there is still inflamation in his lungs that needs to clear on it's own so his oxygen improves. Keep our little guy in your prayers to recover quickly and for his Mom and Dad to keep on keepin' on and to hang in there a few more days... He is looking good and gaining weight so we know he's coming along. We hear some of the same lines as when Stan was in ICU "It takes as long as it takes".

I loved having a couple of mornings with Linaya while her Mom was at work. I think half time is great for Monica as she's really not gone out of Linaya's life very long at a time. By the time Linaya has a couple of naps in the am and one bottle feed it is time for Mom to come in the door.

Stan's report from the Renal Unit was good. They are very pleased with his strength and progress and those kidneys have improved to working at 60%.
By the way, they had the worst blizzard since 1950 something but I wasn't that worried about staying one more day! :-)

"On the road again..."

Tomorrow is our day to head "north" which really is "central" by the map of Sask. I look forward to seeing our babies and to a good report for Stan from the Renal Unit. I get to do a little babysitting for Linaya for a couple of mornings which will be very enjoyable! I am hoping Josiah moves into his house while we are there. I just look forward to seeing him with Mom and Dad in his own less clinical environment.

This is the time of year we usually go to Saskatoon where Stan attends a "crop production" show which is geared to growing pulse crops in Saskatchewan. He will meet up with a friend and fellow farmer to look around and that always makes a pleasant experience. He will pace himself a little slower this year and spend a couple of days looking and listening to the speakers.

*Update on Aunt Vi Bell of Weyburn. She still is very weak and not herself. Please keep Bill and Vi in your prayers as they find her progress painfully slow. She is at home.
Until next time... :-)

Melissa and Josiah

 
Josiah is still at the hospital but almost finished his 7 days of anitbiotics. He is eating well and making good progress. Melissa and Robert are hopeful that by the weekend or early next week they will all be living at their house! Melissa is recovering as well as she can being on the go all the time and I look forward to her being able to rest in one spot too. Please continue to keep their family in your prayers as they recover. 

Pictures with Uncle Stephen

 
 
  

Visits with Uncle Stephen

The kids may not remember this year's visits from their Uncle Stephen, but we have the pictures to show them they had a great time! Stephen got lots of smiles from Linaya. Melissa got her wish and Josiah was born before Stephen left. Stephen had the opportunity to go see him twice. Here is a picture of Josiah's room after Stephen painted the mural for him. Cute. Hope he likes bugs!!
Stan and I came home again today for the remainder of the week. We will be back to the Saskatoon next week for the Crop Production show. We keep that highway heated up with our travels. We came home on boxing day and Melissa called us back on the 28th. It worked! We left the city and she went into labour!! What an exciting time for our family. We are sorry the plan didn't go a little smoother for Josiah's delivery and homecoming, but things are going well for him now. He should be home in the next day or two.

Update to the update

Not to be!! Melissa was discharged today without Josiah. He needs to be monitored a little longer and Melissa and Robert will be doing some driving across the city to go visit and keep him fed. He is in good hands and there's not much else to be done in this situation. We are all disappointed not to get the newest family picture, but that is of secondary consideration to getting him strong and ready for his life at home. Keep the family in your prayers as everyone works on having patience once again. Love from Maxine

Josiah Update

Monica has the pics on her blog but I thought I would do the update. The results are back from Josiah's test on his lungs and there is no sign of infection. The doctor will do rounds in NICU this morning and will probably let baby move to Mom's room. Her doctor's wish is for Melissa to spend one more night in hospital with the baby in her room and they will probably come home tomorrow. A great way to start 2oo7. He s sure a sweet little guy and we look forward to getting to know him much better!! Happy new!! year.

Family!

 
 
 
  

Happy holidays!

We had a wonderful Christmas together in Saskatoon! (I have been playing the odds game to get on the blogger ever since. I will post pictures if it will work twice in a row.) Still no baby news to tell you. "A watched kettle never boils" ...so Melissa sent us home hoping that we'll get a call from her to head back up to Sasktoon. We decided to come home on boxing day to be here for Ruby's birthday party and renew Stans licencses for vehicles. Then, we're off to Saskatoon again to bring in the new year with the kids and put Stephen on his plane back to Oklahoma on Jan 1st. Stan celebrates his birthday tomorrow! His new grandbaby would be a great present, but we're resigned to the fact that baby is comfy at the moment and not in a hurry after all. We sure had fun with our little Linaya. What a joy. One little smile melts your heart. I guess that is how it is meant to be. Stephen enjoyed getting aquainted and has a personal involvement with Melissa's baby, too, because he has been busy painting friendly bugs on the nursery wall! I'll show you pics of Stephen's arrival but probably not of his departure. It is always sad to send him off but the good news is that he loves what he does and is very good at keeping in touch. Happy new year!!!

YES!

It is finally Dec. 19th. It is the day we head to Saskatoon to meet Stephen at the plane and to have our family all together. I am soooo excited. I have become like my mother! The entry way is full of baking and food to head north. Monica is planning on Christmas dinner at her house, but I can help out a little, right??? I used to tease my Mom that we had our own water. She used to bring everything from the turkey to the vegetables!! (I'm not quite that bad, am I??) The next entry may be from Saskatoon. Happy holidays to you, too! Love from Stan and Maxine :-)

Visit with Aunt Vi !

Well, yesterday we decided to go back to Regina General to find Auntie Vi who has finally moved back out of intensive care. Uncle Bill and Donna were so encouraged that she has finally made a leap in progress. We found her smiling, able to eat a little "real" food like meat and potatoes and actually enjoying it. She is sitting up for periods of time but definitly not ready for walk down the halls. They haven't been told if she will be transfered back to hospital in Weyburn or sent home to family's care. Let's continue to pray for her progress. She has been through some pretty serious valleys. She told me to come home and tell everyone how she is doing and I promised her that I would indeed brag on her progress!!! :-)

Beautiful weather!

This is quite a change from last week. Stan has been out cleaning off the combine from harvest and the quanset (large storage shed) is now empty of the grain stored there and refilled with machinery put away for the winter. He also has been busy on the phone marketing our chick peas, ordering the right seed for next spring and arranging for nitogen etc. to be hauled in to the bins that grain has been leaving. Sometime it reminds me of the circus act where you try to get all the plates spinning at once. I have finished off the next baby quilt, worked on some Christmas mail and now need to get some baking done. All that time in the city and you would think I had been doing Christmas shopping! Not yet, oh well... We have been to community activities of suppers, concerts and to night is the hospital fundraiser. I think it is good for satisfied customers to be there!! Our medical system was very good to us this year. Stan continues to heal and get stronger. Those bandages just get smaller and smaller :-)
The news on Auntie Vi is that she is out of ICU and in post op. The ward is also under lockdown because of Norwalk virus and her family has gone home to Weyburn to rest until the hours are up.
SATURAY NIGHT UPDATE: Aunt Vi has been moved back into Cardiac Care Unit and her family has returned. There have been some setbacks.
It's getting closer to Dec. 19th! Closer to Stephen coming home and our family together. That make us smile!! Love from Stan and Maxine