Fun & Garlic

Little did we know that having Andrew and Rebecca and their two cutie pies for a couple weeks, would result in so much garlic intake. I had no idea that my most used kitchen utensil would be my Trudeau garlic press (a wonderful high quality one - thankfully) and that my house would smell like a fine garlic resturant, or that everything eaten would have a large quantity of garlic thrown in.....yes, from scrambled eggs, soups to bread with honey and garlic.

But I did know that when they came to visit and vacation with lucky us, that we would have a ton of fun and lots of laughs! :) The reason for the garlic....? Well, not even halfway through their vacation, everyone got sick with coughs, colds, earaches, and then long nights began, followed by tired days....and so the garlic was pulled out to save the day. :) Those poor guys... but they had such a good attitude as they were sick at a place other than home. But before the sickness started...we had fun....and we still had fun through it. :)

On the way back from the airport - three little cousins in a row. Katelyn and Karina held hands for a while. :)
They arrived on Sunday afternoon and after a glorious reunion, went home to soup and a nap. It's just soo marvelous to have your family around and start laughing and laughing.... :)

We enjoyed the beautiful outdoors, and then set out on a walk down the country road by our place. Daniel and Kate started out in the Ergo's, but evenutally it was James and I carrying the Ergo's empty as these kids like to move. :)

The Dads and the children.

I love Daniel's stride...so cute to watch these little legs run ahead of us.

And then they wanted to swing - so we had three being swung at once...wheee....

I love seeing joy on their faces.

The next day was Thanksgiving Monday and we all got together at the Windmill. Each person was in charge of a certain dish. (James did the pumpkin pies and rolls with honey whipped butter)

The other table with us in it. :)

After the dishes and cleanup, we headed out to a nearby conservation area called "App's Mill" for a lovely walk in the fall atmosphere, but on the drive it started to rain...then pour. :) A few of them started out, and waited out part of the rain til it died down a tad. James and Brad are being creative in their hope of staying dry. :) A bunch of us in the van were well entertained. :)

But eventually we all made it out - and most of us got pretty wet. James shrink wrapped Katelyn to the Ergo and himself - and she stayed fairly dry. This is our Thanksgiving family picture. :)

The next evening we all went swimming, and had a blast. I was surprised how much Katelyn enjoyed it, and Daniel and Karina did super splashing around. We had so much fun with all of them.

The cutesome threesome.

And then we went for a Tim Hortan's date afterwards. :)

Three cousins in a tub. I love Daniel's little smirk. :) Having cousins around her, that didn't mind a waterfall of water poured over their heads made Katelyn a lot more brave. :) It's amazing how much they pick up from watching other children.

The darling family - who coordinates seemingly effortlessly. :)

Rafting down the Grand River - a fun experiance with three little ones. It took over 3 hours and was an interesting experiance in the chillyish weather. :)

James had the back of the boat (most of the time) Rebecca and I on the sides, paddling when we could and watching that we didn't lose any little ones over the side the rest of the time, and Andrew at the front. We brought a long a couple car seats that the children took turns sitting or standing in and snacks which helped keep us going. :)

Reaching out destination!

Yup - she got into a permanent marker...oops. :) My little kitty cat.

On market day, we drove to see James and have lunch with him. It was fun to see his setup again - this picture doesn't show it all, but there is a trailer to the right where they sell all their pies and such. James is at the market one day a week for 6 months of the year. He just finished for a while, so I'm a bit excited, as it will be a little less busy with it over.

Eating our picnic lunch at the food court - the weather was sooo chilly.

Daniel being fed through the chair...smart boy.

Who needs to put money in these mall toys? The kids had fun just sitting in them, and banging the buttons. :)

Then Rebecca's sister Rachel, her husband Andy and three children came up from the states for the weekend! It was a full and busy household with 6 children under 6ish... but a neat time. Us adults played 'Match the Penguins' after the little ones went to sleep...and yes....it was fun.... :)

The two sisters families. :) It's neat cause Rachel and I are due on the same day in January...now to see who will acutally have their little ones first. :)

And our two families.

Almost all of the Heikoops gathered at a little asian resturant in Hamilton for a quick lunch to say goodbye to mom and dad Heikoop. They headed off to India for a few weeks with Gospel for Asia, and then to visit friends in Europe for a couple weeks. This is Katelyn having a total blast with the noodles...her favorite item to eat.

The travelers...it will be exciting to hear about their travels upon their return! :)

Rebecca and Andrew with their portions.... :)

....kidding.... :) Rebecca shared her's with the children and Andrew had a bigger bowl for sure. :) Twas excellent soup though. They had sprouts and mint and another herb that you put in it....yummy. :)

Then after a short mall intermission, we and Andrew & Rebecca headed off to a glorious time in Niagara Falls! Andrew and Rebecca very generously booked us and themselves seperate suites at the Falls with one of those special deals online. It was soooo fun, and actually felt like a real holiday! So relaxing and luxerious, and we barely spent anything on it. :)

The deal came with a discout to a couple resturants, so by being very frugal and getting a couple kid's meal free (on Mondays!) we didn't spend a dime. :) And yet we even got to get dessert!!!! That was super fun. :)

It was at East Side Mario's. :)

The kids' got desserts which we shared. :) Cute trio of mini ice-cream cones.

Up in Andrew and Rebecca's suites- 42nd floor with fallsview. :)

Lovely. :)

Then it was bathtime for the cousins - in the jacuzzi tub. :) I love this picture of Katelyn and Daniel in their diapers. :)

And while they splashed, we adults played "Match the Penguins" again. :)

The next morning, we three went for a morning swim/splash before heading down to a lovely breakfast.

The breakfast had cooked-to-order omelettes, with eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes etc. as well as your traditional contenential breakfast, cereal's, fruit, hash browns, etc.... soooo lovely.

The other side of the table

Daniel walking alongside the fallsview windows.

Then we walked down to the waterside and got some pictures. :) The family of three...for a couple more months anyways.

The Fehr Family with the American Falls behind them.

Lovely picture of Becca and daughter Karina.

One of Andrew's nice shots... :)

Sisters... :)

We had a picnic snack by the gorge and then while Andrew, Becca and Karina went on Maid of the Mist, we had a nap with the other two kids at the Bed 'n' Breakfast room which Andrew and Rebecca were going to be in that night.

So we watched the kiddo's while they had a day to themselves. :) It was good practice for me to have three younger ones at once. The night went super, and the kids generally played together quite well.

Balloon fun - Karina goes around bonking the other kids' heads with balloons, and lots of laughter ensued. :)

Then child labor began. :) They all wanted a turn using the vaccum cleaner.

Waiting for James to come home from Bible Study. :)

I painted Karina's toenails and fingernails for fun... :)

The two cousins playing a duet.

Cousins sharing booster juice smoothies after Rebecca and I had a date hour together. The guys watched the kids while we did some clothes shopping, girl stuff, booster juice and feeling really strange without our little ones hanging around us. :) But it was fun to have just us time together. Our last evening together - took a short bike ride to the park.

The kids enjoyed the swings and going oh so high. :) Then it was back home to bed, and an eventful night for all of us. :) Katelyn threw up three times (her first time- so sweet and pathetic) and Becca and co. had it a bit busy too - and the poor guys had to leave for the airport by 5 am. James ended up taking them alone to the plane, after a tearful early morning goodbye. I stayed home with Katelyn feeling like a bit of a traitor. And suddenly the house was really quiet.

In some ways those two weeks went slow - but everyone getting sick didn't help that's for sure. And so many times, we wondered 'why' did they have to get sick on their vacation. God knew and at least we got to do a few fun things in between the worst moments. We did have a lot of fun, and a lot of laughs, between chugging down...the garlic. Love ya Andrew, Rebecca, Karina and Daniel. :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Today is Grandma's Fehr's birthday and we want to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all of us over here in Ontario!!! We would love to be with you and celebrate this special day with you...miss you mom.

I thought this outfit would bless Grandma Fehr's heart. :)
Katelyn was distracted by all the cousins around, but at least we held onto our birthday banner tightly.

Karina and Katelyn together - Happy Birthday to a wonderful mommy, and Grandma. I couldn't ask God for a better mom than the one I was given, and I am so glad that she is Katelyn's Grandma. :) I hope that I'll be as good of a mom to her, as my mommy is to me...that I'll make those adorable paper watches that made me feel so grown up, design the pretty paper dolls/outfits that I played with so much...and most importantly, that I'll teach her to love Jesus and listen to her heart like my mom did with me. But what I hope and pray for the most is that someday soon, I'll be able to bring her to Christ...just like my mommy did with me...changing my life for eternity.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Visit with Friends

For the past couple days we had Jared and Breanne (and their little girl Kilmeny) over while Jared had some music to do in Hamilton. It was great to have time to visit with Breanne after spending a bunch of time together in the summer when they lived nearby. And it was really fun to watch our little girls interact - though they have a little ways to go yet. :) It was more like take each other's soother, Katelyn would stroke her hair (cause she actually has some!) and both shriek together like little lion cubs. :)

Kilmeny playing with Katelyn's shoes. :)
James watching the girls for a few minutes. :)

Bathtime together...

Getting a few last pictures before they headed back north. Such a cute picture of the two red gingham girls.

Mom's and daughters. So neat to share these moments with a longtime friend. Never dreaming that we'd be both in Ontario for a while, and have little girls who will be friends. :)

Blessed

I am blessed - sometimes even spoiled rotten! (in the bestest sort of rotten spoiling there is of course! :)) I'm loved by a handsome incredible man, have an adorable little muffin, waiting for another little strudel to join us, have a Savior who died for me, am surrounded by family & friends who love me, live in a cozy little home in a cute village and meet with other wonderful believers at least once a week. :)

I've been given so much by God and others...and yet sometimes I get tired of giving back or just wanting to with-hold from giving of myself and time. Humans do get tired I realize, and you can't always be on the giving end, but like I said to James, God doesn't get tired of giving, or keeps track of the score: how much He's given to me and how much I've done for Him - cause of course I'd be so far in debt, there'd be no hope of freedom... in His mercy and love He just keeps blessing me. Over and over again. So now I need just to remember that and to give back to Him and others in the time and ways He plans for me. Yup, I'm blessed. :)

"...my cup runneth over..."
I made a smoothie for James and I ( + Katelyn) and while pouring it, of course, had to spill over in a big plop. Just one of those days. :) Such a little thing, and how silly to get disheartened over it. But James was right there to say, 'stay right there', grab the camera, and of course turn it into a fun moment...though my tired expression doesn't show it. :) So thankful for a wonderful husband. :)

Katelyn having a riot on the new air mattress. :)

Dad and Mom's 41st wedding anniversary was this past Monday and we got to have them over for dinner. Though to be honest, we both had forgotten about it being their anniversary. (oops...) Thankfully, the dinner wasn't hot dogs :) but a bit more on the 'nicer' side, and we enjoyed a great evening with our parents. Committed to each other couples are encouraging.

Katelyn having 'blanket' time. It doesn't happen every day, but we're working on it. She gets SO excited when I say it's blanket time, and can't wait to sit on the blanket, but the enthusiasm doesn't last more than 10 minutes or so...but at least we're on our way.

New & Old Friends - Youth Conference

Last weekend we had our annual youth conference at our church. A time of busyness, fun, food and inspiring sessions were the order of the days. I didn't help out a ton, but was able to attend a few sessions, and help a bit out with the food, and we were blessed to have some girls in our home. There was around 170 young people, all from the southern Ontario area - mostly mid-teens. It was kind of neat that while we had our conference, the church back in Alberta had their bi-annual Weekend in the Word. :)

The speaker was Stephan Hawkins - a Jewish Christian man, who is an amazing evangelist - worldwide. He had such a great sense of humor, really kept the young people's attention with his storied, and incredible testimony. He has gone through so much in his life - terrible abuse growing up, persecuted for becoming a Christian, and then a lot of different trials, as well as challenging 'evangelist' times. The theme/topic was "Understanding God's Will for Your Life."

Katelyn and a 'friend- Nathan. Love how girls=pink and boys=blue. :)
During the one afternoon there was a whole bunch of activities - ranging from volleyball, soccer in the mud, street hockey in the rain, ping-pong and Bible skits. I was in the skit area with a bunch of others - we were divided into groups (by William) and had to put together some skit. Our group did Dorcas from the book of Acts (a good girl skit, since most of the participants were girls :) I played the piano, and we did a silent 'film'/charade type of skit. This picture is of William and another guy doing a story from the Old Testament.

Watching the skits...

"Dorcas" (Sherri Strongman) and another girl.

That night after supper, it was free time or watching "Flywheel" (the first movie from the producers of Facing the Giants/Fireproof) A bunch of us did some games - and for me, it was the best time of playing Dutch Blitz since....probably since moving out east. Brad made it extra fun for everyone. :)

Another table - a crazy game of Spoons. :)

We had the Strongmenn girls and a friend, Kaliegh over for the weekend. They are friends of my cousins, and know my family (even though they are from Ontario) so it was neat for me and James to finally get to know these fun gals. We had some great talks, lots of laughs and even sang together. :) This is Sherri letting the purse 'piglet' go through her handbag. :) And just so you all know, we bought an air mattress before the weekend, so now have extra bed space for you visitors. :) It's really nice....really :)

Cheryl and Beth helping me get ready for the church lunch the next day.

After lunch the next day - we all coordinated black and white. :) From L-R: Brianna (fellow midwife to Sarah) Kaleigh, Cheryl, Sherri, Beth, me and a baby doll.

Us again - just a bit more formally. :) It was special to have the Strongman girls and Kaleigh over for the weekend and get to know them a bunch.

Katelyn amusing herself in the nursery with a friend. Children love cupboards. :)

Deanna keeping the girls occupied and happy - playing peek-a-boo with a blanket...lots of laughter.

Then it was all over - everyone really tired, but hopefully some lives were challenged to keep on for Christ.