Nice Evening with my daughter!

Last night, Heather and I spent a lovely evening, just the two of us going out for supper at a Vietnamese restaurant and then attending the Soweto Gospel Choir (a South African choir) at the Jack Singer. This was her gift to me for my birthday and it was great. First time we had done something like this in all the years they have lived here ( I mean without the kids and just her and I). The only thing that we thought we should have had was more time to chat!!! O yes, we chat over the phone and in person but when the children are there, that takes priority. I absolutely love the fact that all three of my daughters are my best friends and we can talk about anything. It just fills my heart with joy and I thank the Lord everyday for that blessing!

Our appetizers were chicken, rice and lettuce in rice wraps. I think these are one of my favorites in Vietnamese restaurants.

Having the best Thai Curried Beef with noodles and bean sprouts. Yummy!!

What a wonderful birthday gift ..... Thank you so much!!

Some more guests!

Dale and Darlene came out to Calgary last Wed. night and spent Thurs., Friday and Saturday with us and then left this morning. What a good time we had! Dale had a symposium to go to on Thurs. and Friday for aircraft maintenance that happens every March so that meant that Darlene and I could shop til we dropped and we did!!!!! Literally!!!! Thursday, Heather picked us up and we went over to Walmart, had lunch with the kids at MacDonald's!!!! Nate talked the whole time!!!!! So fun!!! Then Friday, I had the car so Darlene and I got ready, went to Shawnessy, Ikea and finally Chinook and spent the whole day shopping, talking, having lunch, talking, having coffee, talking, shopping, and talking some more..........do you get the idea????? She and I grew up together and yes, we can hardly get the words out fast enough!!!!! But when I looked back on the conversations we had, one subject came up again and again and I bet you could never guess what it was.............our wonderful, unique and beautiful (Yup, you guessed it!!!) GRANDCHILDREN!!!!! These little people are absolute "sunshine" in our lives. They have two ..... a beautiful little girl and a handsome little boy. Only God could create this situation. He knew that when we reach our age that we need these precious kids to teach us again how to live, to love unconditionally and how to look at the world with awe and wonder. Is it any wonder that we love them so!!!!

Saturday, we got up early, had our prebreakfast coffee by candlelight in the living-room, then took off for Turner Valley to a little restaurant for a hearty cowboy breakfast at the Chuckwagon cafe. It was a gorgeous day for a drive in the foothills. On our way back, we showed them Heather and Duane's home and visited with Miles and Arlene who happened to drive up just as we were turning around in their cul-du-sac. Siri and Jemma were out on the front lawn hunting for ladybugs, chatted with them for a few minutes, then went home, later to get ready to go to "The Booth Brothers" First time that Dale and Darlene had seen them live. We enjoyed it so much!!

What a wonderful, inspirational and fun concert!! The Booth Brothers and the Dixie Melody Boys were at Grace Baptist. I think the Booth Brothers are my absolute favorite of all the groups that I have listened to. They are so honest and genuine and want to share their faith. When you leave their concert, you are in no doubt about what they believe. Very excited about sharing Christ. They also had a video tribute to Roger Bennett who just passed away March 17th. He was one of the best pianists in the Southern Gospel Association (for the group, Legacy Five). He was only 48. I have been following his online journal in his battle with leukemia and it is so amazing. His wife Debbie is going to continue to write and tell some of the events and answers to prayer that they as a family experienced. What a witness to the grace and strength that God gives us in our trials. He is going to be missed so much.

Alberta Sunset!

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!!!!

SPRING HAS ARRIVED - at least according to the calendar!!!! Not so at our house - the ground is covered in snow and it is abit chilly outside!!!! Our friendly forecaster said this morning that it IS going to warm up!!! All this talk about spring makes my fingers itch to get them working in the soil along with the earthworms!!!!! Remember these slithery, ugly looking things are GOOD for the soil. The kids love looking for earthworms and usually come out with Gramma with their pails and shovels and collect families of them!!! I am longing to fill our back yard again with flowers, flowers and more flowers!!! I love the look, the smell, the beauty of flowers in the spring and summer and besides that it is absolutely theraputic to work in the soil!!! My husband, on the other hand sometimes shakes his head and I think he thinks his wife has gone bonkers with her passion for gardening!!! O well, he IS a patient man and WILL come out and work along side of me. I think the best part for him is sitting down and having a cup of java with some good Australian "tim tams"!!!!! That funny-looking bush in the first picture in the middle is a "Smoke bush" and I loved it. It just grew and grew and grew last summer. The flowers (IF that is what you call them) look like smoke billowing. Very, very interesting bush. Anyway, I hope this gets you longing for the greens, the pinks, the reds and every other color that flowers come in. HAPPY GARDENING!!!!!!

Fun and Fellowship with family and friends!

Had a fun day Sat. The first thing I did was to have lunch with my nieces, Patty and Elaine at a Vietnamese restaurant (so good) while Jim took Phil down to Mountain Equipment. He didn't make it to Ikea but Patty and Elaine did (the two favorite stores of the Saskatchewan people) Then we were all going to go out to Jarle and Judy's for coffee in the afternoon but Judy phoned us and told us she was making chicken and rice (you know, our dear Judy with the loving and servant heart) for supper and wanted us to come. So I phoned her and told her I was bringing the salad and dessert and so we had a wonderful time around their table. Phil had not seen them for quite some time and it is always fun when Elaine comes (she brought her daughter to the retreat)

Phil and Jim looking suave and debonair in the kitchen before heading off for church Sunday morning. Phil had to go back to they youth retreat and pick up his teenagers - boy that must mean we are getting to be shhhhhh.........seniors!!!!!!! We so enjoyed having Phil stay with us.

Here is proud Grandpa Vern holding his cutey little grandaughter, Darcy's little baby. She was baptized yesterday at the morning service. What a special time and what a special service!

I don't know how I managed to get two pics on here but anyway this is another child who was baptized yesterday. Remember Jennifer Crickett - this is her little boy and her husband. Jennifer is expecting another little one in the spring. It is so fun to have her and her mom, Linda coming again to our church. He is such a fun little boy and so good in the nursery - wants to help all the time and not shy at all. Then we had a wonderful potluck after church - so much variety of food and yummy desserts - For Friendship Sunday. I think everyone enjoyed it.

So you see, it was just one blessing after another this weekend and made me want to sing at the top of my voice, "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God!!!"

Uneventful week!

It has been a rather uneventful week with working, sleeping and sleeping and working!!!! I do manage to get some eating in there too!!!! I did have coffee at Patty's on Wednesday afternoon. I brought her a book and she had the coffee on so that was fun to get caught up on what we all had been doing. She is anxious like I am to get out in the flower beds. We will be also getting together this Saturday because Elaine is going to be in town. Elaine is bringing some kids to a Youth Retreat at the Covenant Bible College in Strathmore this weekend. Phil Loseth is also bringing some kids to it and he will be staying with us on Sat. night. Always fun to spend time with family.
Sue, your dad and I have been so enjoying the pictures you have been putting on your blog. And of course remembering the smells, the beauty, the sunrises and sunsets, the beach, just everything!

Birthday lunch!

Last Monday, Bev and I took Margaret (who had a special birthday the day before Nancy's) to the Dove's Nest - a cute Tea House connected to Jen's Country Folk Market. It serves the best food, it is run by Jen's mom and we all love going there for lunch. Then the next best thing is that we get to shop around in Jen's store afterwards. Jen is Laura's daughter-in-law and a very good friend of Nancy's. Anyway, both Bev and I go to Margaret's Bible Study that she holds in her home on Thursday afternoon. The other gals that come could not make it that day because of other committments. Jim and I had been invited to her special birthday supper right on her birthday but because I had to work (yuk!), we couldn't go so this was the next best thing. She is looking forward to the end of this month because her kids from Minnesota come to help them celebrate both hers and Hannes birthdays. Margaret has such a servant heart and always has been one to visit when people in our church are sick. Not only that but she brings food that she has cooked which is always delicious. Thank you, Margaret for your concern, love and prayers for all of us in the church family.

Ice Cream!!!!!

After walking in Fish Creek Sunday afternoon we went over to MacDonald's with our kids and had ice cream!!! So much fun on such a gorgeous day. It was like summer - 18* celsius - almost as good as Hawaii - right? Not!!!! Your last day in beautiful Maui, Sue and Eric - we are anxiously waiting to hear about your trip. Praying for you as you fly back!

"Heiraas Fine Dining" Rating - Exceptional!!!!!

Saturday night, our friends, Laura and Glen invited us to go with them to a fairly new exclusive restaurant in town and what a wonderful experience it was. The food was excellant, the atmosphere - delightful and so were the cooks!!!!. They served a four-course meal with appetizers, delicious brocolli soup, roast beef, mashed potatos, vegetable dish, yorkshire pudding and a chocolate lava cake and ice cream for dessert. It was delicious, delightful and downright delectable!!!! Thanks guys for a most wonderful evening!!!! You are simply awesome!!!!

You shop til you drop........

How fun is going shopping in the mall with grandkids.......I'm serious.....it is so fun!!! They add a whole new dimension to things.....like finding a table close to the play area in the food court......putting them on rides......sitting in the cozy couches entertaining a couple of them while mommy does her errands......they are refreshing like the rain that falls......they keep us young!!!! Yesterday was one of those days. Heather came into town to the Moms and tots group that meet every Thursday morning and so this gramma phoned her up and said, "Do you want to come to the mall with me? Let's go out for lunch." And (of course this just warms the very depths of my heart) the kids love coming to Gramma's house......what can be better!

Our baby girl is 27 today!!!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to our dear Nancy

Happy Birthday to you!!

How I remember that day. We were living at the church at the time and after Nanc was born, I called my dad and he said, "Are you still in one piece?" It was so good to have them there. From Nancy's baby book.......I wrote......"Jim was able to be with me throughout the delivery this time and he was just fantastic. NancyAnn has chubby cheeks, looked like a 3 month old and reminded us of both Heather and Susanne when they were born. Lots of black hair. Our reaction was one of thankfulness to God for another beautiful daughter, awed again by the Miracle of birth. We named her NancyAnn Ruth.....NancyAnn means full of grace, mercy and prayer. Ruth means a beautiful friend. And that is our prayer for our precious baby that she will grow up to be a beautiful friend filled with grace, mercy and prayer.

There she is, our baby girl born 27 years ago on March 7, 1980 weighing in at 11#1oz.

At the toddler stage, a happy child, and of course the pride of her whole family. Susanne and Heather love her so much.

Her graduation from Gr. 12.


Now a beautiful mommy herself! Having coffee together the week we were there after Breiden was born.

I wonder.........

Eric and Susanne........We are thinking about you and wondering how you are enjoying Maui........We are so anxious to see pictures, we can hardly stand it!!!!! You will be taking some awesome ones, I know that. So if you happen to get to an Internet Cafe, you two, send us some!!!! Your family is waiting........
Isn't it just the best? The sand, surf, sun and smells of these gorgeous islands is breathtaking and we hope you are just enjoying every minute!!!! Love you......By the way, how was the flight?????

More guests at Archies "B" n "B"

How fun was this to have weekend guests from Saskatchewan. My two sisters and one brother-in-law. Having soup and salad (Jarle and Judy also came) before heading out to Innisfail for the wedding reception for Grant and Debbie's daughter and her husband. They had their wedding in Mexico on the beach in Jan. and then the reception at home on Sat. night. It meant alot to them to have Gramma Vivian there. The only jewellery that Jennifer wore was a locket and in the locket were pictures of her Grandpa Howard and her other Grandpa who had also passed away. So thoughtful of her. She came over to our table to show us and made us all cry.

Cute little Sydney (Aunty Viv's great-grandaughter) with Chris's girlfriend, Holly.

Aunty Viv's grandchildren, Chris, Jennifer and Carmen at the reception.
Dancing with her daddy.

Stopped at Heather and Duane's Sunday afternoon on our way out to Jarle's.

With Uncle Roy and Auntie Joyce. Nate with Aunty Viv.

Jarle has fixed up a room downstairs at their house to look like Gramma's kitchen. Old cupboards, stove, lanterns, cans, etc. that he found at Stupstead's farm and in our old house, also some things from Gramma Berge and he has spent many hours cleaning and redoing the old furniture. He has done such a good job. It is just fun to go down there and reminice.

Having coffee and apple pie at Jarle and Judy's on Sunday afternoon. It was such a fun weekend and now the house seems abit empty.......but just for awhile. This afternoon, our friend Elda from Edmonton comes to stay the night and so it goes............

Guess what we found!!!!! This one's for you, Nanc!!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS GUY DOING?

Yup, you guessed it........... ENJOYING "TIM TAMS"

Found them at our friendly, neighbourhood "Superstore"!!!!!!

I miss it..........

I miss it.......I miss the drive, the smells, the pine trees standing so tall and majestic, the water as it cascades down in it's own direction, dancing with joy and abandon over the rocks, the grey whiskey jacks sitting......waiting.......patiently.......then swooping down to steal the last bread crumb sitting on the picnic table (if you hold out a piece of bread in your hand, they will get that too!!), the wind whispering in the trees at night and best of all.........the millions of twinkling stars that one can actually see because of the darkness!! (I remember one time walking back from the shower with my friend Gerry and telling her that "you haven't lived until you lie flat on your back for a time on the ground and gaze up into the heavens trying to count the stars" So that is what we did!!!! Brian came walking out to see where we were and he too lay down flat on his back on the ground and the three of us looked at the stars!!! What an experience!! Very humbling to say the least and realizing again how very small we humans are.) I miss waking up in the morning to the tune of chickadees, and other birds, perhaps even a raven or two, I miss the smell of wonderful, strong coffee on the fire (that my husband has made by getting up earlier than me, going out to chop the wood, then starting the fire, and watching it smolder abit, then suddenly burst into flames and get hotter and hotter (how mesmerizing is a fire in a firepit!!), the sizzle of the bacon in the frying pan (the smell wafts it's way into the trailer), the kids slowly waking out of a deep sleep and excitedly asking each other, "what shall we do today?" or "Let's eat, I'm hungry!" I miss the sun as it climbs up higher in the sky dispelling the chill of the mountain air , warming our faces as we sit in it's sunbeam on the our comfy lawn chairs. The majesty and beauty of the mountains gets into your blood and you can just feel the calming effect down deep in your soul. I miss sitting at the Lakes, drinking in the absolute breathtaking scene, a canoe out on the bluest of blue water, the occupants putting out their lines to catch that fish, the sound of the waterfall in the distance as it makes it's way down the mountain from the ice and snow high above and my whole being wants to shout "This is our God that created this just for us!!!!!" This was our experience many, many summers as we would head up to the mountains for our vacations with the girls and often times their friends. What good times we had together, laughing, biking, walking, playing games especially Boggle, hiking up Mt. Indefatigiable and almost being blown away by the wind but the view was awesome and I really can't describe it in mere words. We would sit on the grass partway up and have our snacks all the while drinking in the beauty. Never once did we encounter a bear, that of course was on our minds and we usually would make alot of noise as we were hiking.
And so, my friends, as spring and summer approaches, the mountains call and beckon .......
I SHALL go home to my mountains.....
I SHALL step from my car into mountain stillness.....
Noise of the city and tired faces, ringing phones and busy places
Will fade far behind
I SHALL stand tall among them and all the weariness of the world will slowly disappear.........and I will feel blessed beyond all measure.