Remembering Gramps!

Today was my Grandpa's funeral. It was a nice celebration of his life and the man he was and will always be in our hearts. Taking a two and a half year old to the funeral was not such a great idea, but we made it through with only a few incidents.

I am thankful for all the memories I do have of Grandpa. Once a week for 8 years I was over at my grandparents place after school to have supper and then go to piano lessons. Gramps was often the designated driver--even though we could have walked. He also spent countless hours on the farm helping out and was our ally when potatoe season rolled around. He had the dirty, difficult job of being on the harvester with my sister and I, and he would speak up and help us out when things were going too rough. We needed him as our spokesperson! :o)

Even when he was in the home and the dimentia set in, he was such a soft, kind, compassionate man. You never saw a mean streak in him--ever! We could still always joke with him and he would joke back. One of the last visits we had with him, John brought the video camera and just set it up. We were watching it a few weeks ago and I am so thankful that John recorded the small amount that he did. Zech was crazy and almost pushed poor Gramps right out of his rocker, but Gramps seemed to enjoy the company and was quite intrigued by our little boy.

So Gramps (or Great Papa--as Zech calls him) you will be dearly missed and always remembered!

Randomness

It has been a while, I know.  I do have lots of pictures I could post and lots to say, but not tonight. 

So now for some randomness and perhaps some pictures to follow on another post.

1.) Today was my last day of work.......for another year!  It came about rather suddenly as I was hoping to work until the middle of May, but every week I had blood pressure issues and swelling issues, and last week my doctor said that soon she would be telling me to go off, so I made the decision to go off early.

2.) My Gramps passed away this morning.  He would have been 95 years old on May 30th.  We made it back in time last night to visit him and although he was completely non-responsive we said some prayers for him and let Zech tell his Great Papa that he loved him.  I was a little worried how Zech would react, but he has a soft little heart and wanted to touch his Great Papa and was all too willing to say that he loved him and even was right there praying for him.  

3.) Being a parent is the hardest job in the whole wide world, especially lately when the tantrums and complete and utter defiance has set in.  Where on earth did our child go, we wonder most days?  He is a true blessing, but man we have been FRUSTRATED lately!  

4.) Following God's will is so hard, especially when there are SO Many people that just don't understand!  

5.) I am HUGE!  So tired of the comments "oh are you sure you aren't having twins"?!! Yeah thanks, that makes me feel so much better!  I am tired of being pregnant though and yes I have 5 more weeks--ahh!! Hopefully this one will decide to make an early appearance--I can only hope!

6.) Where on earth is Spring?  This weather is so depressing and it has been hard to get out of this funk that I seem to be in lately!  I miss the nice weather!

7.) We had a great family vacation in Banff on the weekend.  Too short, but a nice break nonetheless.  

8.) Perhaps now I will have a little more time to do some catching up on my blog......

Still Alive...

Yes we are still alive. I realize that it has now almost been a month since I last posted--pretty sad. I have been thinking about just stopping the blog, going off facebook (which I pretty much am anyways since I never really check it that often) and just getting rid of my email. I really can't find the time or most importantly the energy. Lately, Zech goes down and I go down right after him. I'm trying to get as much sleep in as possible as I know what awaits me!! :o)

We are off to Calgary for the weekend, so I will post when we are back. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this nice Springy weather we are FINALLY getting!

God Bless!

GrEightful!

Oh another week and while some days seem like they last forever, other days just fly by. Today we are having one of those days where we have a massive attack of the Travel bug! We have been looking at pictures of our beach travels and of the place we lived in Australia and we yearn to be on the beach somewhere tropical, warm and sunny (we are so not cold weather people). We even went to the West Ed. water park to try and feel like we were in a tropical destination for just a couple of hours. The humidity and warmth was nice, but somehow the awful stench of chlorine ruins it (just a tad)! :o) None the less it was a fun afternoon and a nice escape from the new dump of snow we have had and continue to have!


This week I am grateful for:


1.) My wonderful Hubby who celebrated his birthday! He is such an amazing man and I am so blessed to have him in my life! All of his co-workers believe that he was turning 25 years old, so we had a good chuckle over that. He ages well! :o)


2.) Our wonderful friends Dave, Jeanette and their little one Rachel. Jeanette also celebrated her birthday this week and we were able to do a joint celebration for her and John. This is the gift I gave her. I didn't know whether or not she would like it, but she did and there were some tears shed!



3.) Salvaging a deal at work.


4.) My dear sister who also celebrated her birthday this week too. She is an amazing sister, whom we love and cherish dearly! We had some AWESOME thai food and cake to celebrate!


5.) Feeling my baby move and kick and keep me running to the bathroom all night long! These little things are such huge blessings, especially after the stories I just read about still births and infant mortality (absolutely heartbreaking--I count my blessings with each movement I feel!).

6.) Zechariah. He is such a character and while there are somedays (a lot lately) where he just tries our patience, he is still such an amazing child and has quite the personality. His extrovert personality has me on my toes. He has no problems just walking up and talking to people, giving high fives, or just saying a friendly hello. I don't know how to handle it sometimes (as I am so completely opposite).


7.) A dishwasher!!!!! The one thing that I hated about this place was the fact that there was no dishwasher. John even bought a portable one using his staff discount, but it really sucked and was so tiny. So we have been checking out Kiji and happened to find one, that works good and was cheap! YAY for DISHWASHERS!!!!


8.) An amazing sermon at church on Sunday from Bruce Olson. I want to get his book. The brief testimony on his life and past 40 some years in the mission field in the Jungles of the Amazon was absolutely amazing and so encouraging. God works in some pretty incredible ways and I often take that for granted and really don't have much faith!

GrEIGHTful.....extended version

Yes, once again this week my blog has been seriously neglected. Lately I am just trying to survive, keep my head above water and make it through the days it seems.

So this weeks extended version includes this past week and the week before!

1.) Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays! January and February seem to be the months of birthdays in our families. I will do a birthday post soon!

2.) A SKYPE date with my good friend Mari and her daughter Ruby. We finally just got hooked up to SKYPE and this program is SOO COOL! I was able to talk and see Mari and Ruby(who was at the spa in Belgium at the time) for FREE!

3.) My nephew Jonas who turned a year old! He is such a little superman! We love him to death and are blessed to have him in our lives. Zech absolutely adores him!

4.) A playdate with my cousin Rita and her daughter Jaia and our friend Pam and her son Casen. Good practice for Zech to be around smaller, more delicate kids (although they are both almost a year). I think after this playdate I started to panic and wonder how on earth I am going to manage with two. Zech was bopping the kids on the head, was mean, wouldn't share and I was at my witts end! Sorry guys! :o(

5.) An awesome appointment with my OBGYN. I have been really stressing a lot lately about my next delivery and REALLY want to do a VBAC. I have been reading lots and found that some OBG's won't do them, or say they will and then two weeks before the woman is due, change their mind and say they won't. So I found out that I am a prime candidate and so far the pregancy, and ultra sound has revealed that there should be no reason why I can't (praise the Lord). So I told me OBG that this is what I wanted, I told her that I was aware that some OBG's will not preform them and wanted to know if she would and that she wouldn't back out on me a few weeks before the delivery. She was awesome and said that she has done tonnes of VBAC's, so she had no problems what so ever. What a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders. Now we just need to keep praying that I will go into labour on my own and that everything will continue to go smoothly!

6.) My job. Yes I am grateful for my job, but lately I have been so busy and stressed. I just got a new project this week and am really stressed about it. IT'S HUGE!! I am feeling a tad overwhelmed and am trying to figure out where exactly to start. It is a multi-million dollar project that is in the works and has made a lot of media attention. I have the responsibility of doing a Site Assessment Analysis for this project and will be going to Winnipeg in the next week or two to complete it and then have to write my report. The stakes are high and I have to submit this report to people that hold some pretty lucrative titles and status. So pray for me PLEASE!!

7.) The fact that I can work out at the gym this pregnancy. It would be exactly this time during my pregnancy with Zech that I was put on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy! Not fun!

8.) Menu planning! It has been three weeks now that I have sat down and planned our meals for the week. It makes my life so much easier and it is supposed to be saving us money, although I think some of my menu's need to focus more on using what we already have in the cupboard rather than having to buy more ingredients. I will get it figured out yet! :o)

9.) Some great new recipes, that I will share soon.

10.) Fruit salad with some added goodness. Apples, oranges and bananas seem to be staple winter fruits and get a little tiring (although lately I have been craving oranges and orange juice like you wouldn't believe). So I made a fresh fruit salad with some added strawberries and black berries and that was so yummy and a nice, refreshing change!

11.) My son's unique taste buds. He seems to think that raw garlic is a special treat and eats it like it is candy! Weird, but good!

12.) This new stroller. We saw it before Christmas and thought it would be perfect for the new baby and Zech. We have taken it out with Zech and he LOVES it. He loves standing at the back and then having the option to sit when he feels tired. Plus this thing is super light and will be great for travelling (something we always have to consider!)!

13.) That we all got a chance to sleep in this weekend both on Saturday and Sunday. We SOOO needed it. Friday night we were up all night with Zech as he had a bad cold. He even threw up at 3:00 in the morning both in our bed a little and then all over his bed. Lots of fun! He seems to be getting better, but we have been tired and he is so grouchy and just not his usual self.

14.) A nice relaxing Valentine's Day with the two people I love most! We obviously had a low key, stay in the house, relaxing Valentine's Day.

15.) Pretend food and the imagination of a two year old. He always wants to help me in the kitchen and this was such a great distraction and help for me. I no longer have to worry about him burning himself, or cutting himself, etc.

16.) My wonderful husband and his desire to listen to the burdens that God places on his heart when it is sometimes, something that is so difficult to do. Plus some great chances to witness and share the Truth to some people that are really hurting and have been through some really difficult times. It is amazing how God works!

Coffee Filters--who knew!

Some intersting (or useless) tidbits of information for your Friday!! :o)

COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters ..who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.

3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.

4. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.

5. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.

6. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.

7. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.

8. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.

9. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.

10. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.

11. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.

12. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.

13. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

OH YEAH, THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS!

GrEIGHTful!

Another week gone and this was such a long week! Even though I had Monday off, this week just felt like it would never end. Lots of stuff to deal with personally, family related and work related.

So this week I am grateful that:

1.) This week is over! :o)

2.) I have some Great friends! Receiving a little note in the mail from Heather absolutely made my day and could not have come at a better time! Thanks so much Heather, I am so blessed to have you and your family in our lives (just wish we lived a little closer!!)!


3.) Menu planning. I am trying to be a little more organized, so I sat down and planned our menu for the week and shopped accordingly. It sure helps knowing what you are going to have for supper when you come home.

4.) I get cuddles from my boy!

5.) My husband is so dedicated to us; our marriage, our little boy, family and most importantly to God!

6.) I got to visit my Grandparents in the Manor. I let John have a study day and Zech and I drove to Leduc. I think I will always have to take John with me on our visits from now on. Zech was a little too curious and energetic. The visit was very short and sweet!

7.) I got to visit with Trish, Trev and Isabelle. I can not believe how much this little sweetheart has grown! I noticed that Zech got pretty jealous when I was holding her. He never acted out, he just wanted to be held too. So, it was good practice holding a 4 month old and my boy--and it freaked me out a tad! :o)


8.) Lunch with the Ramkissoon's! It was really nice to see them and spend time with them. Jaia has also grown a tonne and is almost a year old! It was interesting to see the difference between boys and girls. When it was time to put Zech down for a nap, the house became so quiet and peaceful. We were a little shocked! Zech is 100 miles an hour non-stop all day and so LOUD! Jaia is so quiet, and content to entertain herself for hours with one toy, it seemed.