Reunited!

Well, this was the weekend of the Bell reunion and we had a wonderful time. Most of us were around all week, with the remainder showing up from Thurs. to Sunday afternoon. The weather cooperated and we spent a lot of time outside between our houses on the farm, Dad and Ruby's in Gravelbourg and an afternoon at Thompson Lake. I'll try post some group shots. More details may follow.

Hit one for the home team!!!

Looking twice?? Yes, that's Stan up to bat and playing ball at a good ol' fashioned ball game and BBQ. We had a great afternoon with friends and the mosquitos and the guests ate well :-)

Seeding has been finished now for three weeks and we are kept busy with spraying chick peas with fungicide, spraying out weeds and mowing all the green and growing grass from the wonderful rains we have been getting. Our crops look like they are doing well and we can just hope there's no hail in our future.

Our family reunion fast approaches for the last week in June and we look forward to lots of fun and pictures together. It has been a while since we have had so many little "Bell" cousins on the farm and we are looking forward to a great time. Stephen just booked his flight home for a week in August so there's another reason to smile.

Additional pictures: Fun things to do at the farm!

You can drive Grandpa's tractor...
You can hang out in the birdcage chairs... (Peek!)
You can ride on Grandma's shoulders....

You can try out the new toddler swing on the deck...
or you can just get totally involved in the new toys.... (note how Linaya's sitting up on her knees and feet :-)

Seeding is done!

Stan finished seeding the last of the crop on Saturday evening! That is great!
The girls and their babies have been here for the weekend and Josiah managed to get his first tractor ride on the last field. Look for those pics on Melissa's blog. What a fun time we have had. I bought a baby swing to clip on the deck beams and after a cool weekend, we finally had enough heat on Sunday afternoon to enjoy being outside.
It is showering today so I'm hoping Stan will give himself permission to take the day off. It has been a busy time around here.. There will still be some spraying to keep up with on weeds and fungicide for chick peas but the moisture was great for seeding and we are very optimisitic about a great crop.

Babies on the farm!!

The first picture is Linaya and Monica in the tractor with Stan. Her little feet were just a-bouncin' as if to say "Let's keep this thing moving!"

The next is Josiah wearing his John Deere shirt and socks from Tim and Sarina.

The last is Stan and Linaya enjoying what we refer to as "the birdcage chair" on our deck.

Seeds, seeds and more seeds...

It has been a busy farm since the last post! Canola is in the ground, this will be the last day for seeding chick peas (Stan's hoping there's enough seed in the bin to finish!) Next comes the duram wheat! I planted potatoes and have the garden tilled and ready to plant the rest. I spent most of yesterday on the riding mower. The rain really freshed things up around here. The weekend was a wonderful break in stride to have Roy, Monica and Linaya home to visit! Robert, Melissa and Josiah had been here recently too and it has changed the farm forever to have our next generation coming to visit! I'm even more excited about planting carrots!! Stan had "his little girl" (Monica) riding on the tractor with "her little girl" (Linaya). How fine is that! (I'll find pics later.)

Update from the farm

Hi there, Due to the fleeting nature of our computer service lately, I decided I had better blog while the "blogging is good". Stan is happily seeding the crop of 2007. I have hauled the first loads of water on my water truck and things are feeling as they should. We had about 1/2 inch of rain the other day so the conditions are good for seeding the Canola.

Stephen has been in Mexico all week to work on a school for handicap children. It has been a work in progress for the last two years sponsered by Memorial Road Church on the OC campus. He called home to tell me that there had been a terrible storm in Piedras Negras, Mexico, where a team of 14 of them have been working. He knew there had been death and many injuries and wanted to assure me they were all safe. The next day I found out that the school had been completely destroyed!! They are staying the rest of the week to do cleanup and salvage. Hopefully the project will be continued as there are people from Oklahoma who sounded willing to pay contractors to go in and rebuild to the prestorm status. I had been thinking he was away from the Oklahoma tornado season and he was safer in Mexico! Guess he's being looked after no matter where he is.

Baby days!

We had a good trip to Saskatoon. Another Dr. is done seeing us and WE will choose if there comes a time we need to see him. We have been to a lot of what I call "command performances" when they say "come" and we go! The medical community in general is always impressed by Stan's progress and he continues to improve. Hurray!

We had a nice visit with family. Josiah's not ready to "fill Grandpa's shoes" but he has been trying on his hat! Linaya's becoming a more independent young lady who really tries to feed herself and loves her solid food. I was just commenting to Stan that babies aren't just a blank slate you write on. They already have their own little personalities and likes and dislikes. We just love them so much!

First full day in the field!

The flocks of geese are moving over and Stan is back in the field. Ahhhhhh It's finally Spring.
Yesterday started out with a broken hose on the outfit because of the cold and nowhere to find a new one as everything is closed up for a long weekend. As it happens, there was a piece of hose exactly the right length left in a storage shed and work continued! He is spreading Edge for weed control. That is often a job done in the fall, but not last year. Notice he's using AutoSteer that uses GPS. That's the little screen to the right of the steering wheel.
I had an exciting week because I finally got around to ordering new kitchen countertops. It had been thought for last year, but by the time we got home in November everything familiar was just too wonderful to change. We head to Saskatoon for an appointment on Tuesday. We get our "baby fix" :-)
Easter weekend. Jesus lives, God is good.

Another who fought the good fight, finished the course and kept the faith

I am thinking of the large group of family and friends who are thinking of Cecil Bailey today and celebrating his graduation to his reward. Cecil and my Dad (Manley Jacobs) were LONG TIME friends and another of God's warriors has returned home. They used to encourage each other by telephone and would often comment on who would go first. They stood outside Pansy Bein's funeral making the pact "If you go first, I'll come to your funeral" and "if YOU go first, I'll come to yours!" God blessed them both. I am happy for them, I am still at little sad for us in their absence. I took this photo of Dad and Cecil at the Radville Reunion 2005.

BANDAGE FREE!

That's our big news! It has been some time since our first visit with Dr. Burwell and it was wonderful to actually be given the okay to stop the bandages. We will see him in September and plans will be made to do some alterations to Stan's underarm and graft site. That will be an after harvest/winter project. It always is cause for reflection of how far we have come. Being at the various hospitals immediately takes me back. I am so proud of Stan! I found a quote again today that described us at the deepest moments. "Dear Lord, be good to me, the sea is so wide and my boat is so small"!! (Internet says it is an Irish fisherman's prayer.) We were never alone.

Our babies are great! always a highlight to see them and the parents, of course! It looks like I have a scheme with the Drs. to call us back to Saskatoon, but really, it just turns out to be the "up-side" that out medical network is set up now in that city.

Progress!

Progress on all fronts. Roy Bailey is home to his house, still treating infection with antibiotics and polysporin. Helen is taking good care of him!! Hugh is home to his house, Yvonne and the kids and Hugh is shopping for healthy food and still staying away from the smokes. He is taking all this heart stuff very seriously. Good job!!!!

I'm back into my after supper walks outside! I always look forward to this time of year. Our snow is gone at least for now and Stan is busy getting equipment ready. He has been getting enough exercise without doing the evening walks. We are off to an appointment in Saskatoon on Tues. with the plastic surgeon and look forward to the fringe benefits of visiting with the family and the babies. We are SO close to having Stan healed up and really look forward to the time when we are finished with bandage changes. After 9 MONTHS. Can you believe how long it has been. All is going well. We are encouraged and thankful for wonderful progress.

Medical updates: Roy Bailey and Hugh Campbell

I was in to visit Roy Bailey today. Roy continues to be on antibiotics as he still has infection in his leg and foot. He was out and back from Moose Jaw yesterday to have tests done. They have found something is not right with his blood and it may be connected to hepatitus from the 1940s that is now affecting his liver. Please continue to pray for Roy and Helen. Of course he is anxious to be home.

My brother-in-law, Hugh Campbell, had two more stents placed in his heart arteries on Monday. Hopefully he will be able to return home in the next day or two. At present, Hugh and Yvonne have been keeping up to 8 foster children in their home. We hope there will still be enough calm for Hugh to get rested up and on the road to recovery

Spring has sprung! Farm update time

It rained here this morning! Our snow is all gone except for a little along the trees. Stan ran over his first gopher and flocks of geese are returning. I still haven't heard a meadowlark and that is the BIG moment of Spring being offical to me!
The pressure is building now to get the vehicles (including the combine, semi and graintruck!)serviced, interiors wiped down and vacuumed out ready to start the new season of farming.I have set my goal at least one a day... Then we move on to getting the new hoses on the airdrill etc. which may require calling in extra hands from Saskatoon. We have all the chickpeas and canola sold off the farm and still some durham wheat to move. Things are hummin' around here. Stan is thinking that sitting on the tractor will be the easy part compared to all the preparations.

Roy Bailey is home from Regina but in Gravelbourg hospital for the weekend on intravenous antibiotics as the doctor here detected some infection has showed up in his leg from vein donor sites. I believe the heart surgury itself went well. We look forward to visiting him when he is a little better rested.

The church buiding addition is going well. I'll post a pic of the new auditorium when I remember to take my camera to town. We will be very happy to have a larger area for worship and a bigger room for potlucks!!

My brother-in-law Hugh Campbell had a heart attack last weekend at age 40. They are repairing him with stents. He has gone 1 week smokefree and it will be a major challenge to change the things he needs to in his life. You could pray for successful treatment for Hugh and patience for Hugh and Yvonne.

Guess who is coming to dinner!

This was a sight we never thought we would see. Moose decided to invite themselves to lunch and eat our weeping willow! They were here under our yardlights last night and then showed up again this evening while we were having supper. I set our dog after them, he ran with great enthusiasm until they stopped and looked at him. He then turned and looked at me as it to say "Well, I'm done and WHAT were you thinking!!!" He's never chased anything that was so big and so undisturbed by him.

Roy Bailey update

At last report, Roy has been moved out of ICU and is on the observation ward. Physically, all seems to be going well but he is still having some unpleasant side effects from anethetic etc. Please continue to keep Roy and Helen in your prayers as they wait for for those effects to pass.
Address in Regina for Roy is Regina General Hospital (Observation)
1440-14th Ave, Regina, Sask S4P 0W5

Update re: Roy Bailey

We are pleased to report that Roy came through his surgery and has had 5 bypasses. Please continue to remember him in the days ahead. He is in Regina General Hospital Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) I will post other info as it becomes known.

Same ol', same ol' ...

A week away and then a week with family around. The only bad part about having the babies at our house is that sooner or later they leave!! We had such a fun time. Now the party is over and we need to get established once again in routines.

Tomorrow is an IMPORTANT day for our dear friends, Roy and Helen Bailey. Roy has heart bypass surgery in Regina. If you are reading this, please stop and say a little prayer for Roy and the family. It has been 25 years since his last heart surgery and they are concerned how it will go. I told them that I know that God hangs out in SICU and we ask your prayers on their behalf.

The sun in shining bright today and I just know it will not be long until we have Spring. Hope you are having a great day too!

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. :-)