August Blurrrrr

It is hard to believe that August is almost over and we have not had the summer weather that July gave us. However, with all things that we have done I'm not sure that we could of enjoyed the outside weather. Let's start at the beginning - we got our fence, built and stained and it looks awesome. We have such great Christian neighbors, Patti & Kevin who made this job a fun one. Then we had all the wedding "stuff" to do. Jack married my younger cousin, Cody & fiance Ashley on Saturday, August 18 in Squamish, BC. I had the task of being wedding coordinator and chef...what a big job. The day was set (bad weather and all) and the kitchen was a buzzing with activity. The guest list was comprised of 160 friends and family. All of my mom's siblings (8) were there so it was like a family reunion. I was exhausted but quite pleased with all the meal etc. I missed my co-chef, Barb who was here in Calgary running her very, very busy Bed & Breakfast. But she was always a phone call away should I have needed that little extra pep talk. Jack and I got to visit in White Rock, BC and then down to Beachwood and Bellingham, WA for a short 1 day trip. Then straight up to Squamish for all the activities. My Uncle Dana & Aunt Rachelle were there and my uncle looked fantastic even though he wasn't able to have his chemo 2x over. For more, read his blog attached to this one.
The next big buzz is the talk of my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary plus the celebration of there 70th birthdays. This is all taking place in Saskatoon over the May 2008 long weekend. So I will be home at Thanksgiving taking a look at the hall, rental companies etc. Should be a busy time but productive in getting things rolling for May.
My kids have been busy - Nicole buying her fourth car...not sure where she gets that from! She & her boyfriend, Kris just returned from 2 weeks at Victoria and had a great camping trip. Breanne & Marc finally got there new furniture that fits the apartment and Breanne & her girlfriend Ashley are planning there next big winter trip to somewhere hot. Ryan and his roommate are each looking for new homes as there condo is being sold. Ryan wants to live more between both jobs CTV out in the deep SW and Starbucks on the fringe of downtown. He stayed at the house while we were gone and his car died so now he is without wheels. Always something with these old cars as we learned when we got home from BC. My 1989 Chrysler New Yorker (same as Ryan's) has seen better days and is soon going to charity of choice. Time will tell as to what I get.
With August almost over I am busy with the Oil Conference that is scheduled out in Kananaskis, Sept. 5-7. I am the person in charge of registration so 200 of my closest oil delegates will be mixing and mingling for a couple of days. Jack will have to attend to take care of spouses on the golf course...this is a couple of hard days to take out in the mountains but some how we will try and enjoy it.
So that's it - August has been a very cool, wet blurrrr but fall is almost upon us and then comes winter to start the new year all over again. I look forward to busy couple of months to come and hope that everyone has a great end to the summer months as we have had.

Fence Building

I know that it has been awhile since my last blog. We have been busy getting through weekends (golfing) and visiting and now have finally started on re-building the fence. What a job! With the weather being as hot as it has been, we are trying to only go out when the temp. is under 30. I think that Jack got a bit of heat stroke on Sunday and so we only managed to get 1 section done. But on Saturday we worked for 8 hours taking down the old boards; hammering out the old nails or screws and then cutting and reattaching the new boards. Now I know why people measure twice and cut once! Before I started our job on Saturday, Jack gave me my very own tool belt with a hammer (which hangs from the pocket on the tool belt). Plus I had real leather work gloves that fit me, so no wood splinters in these hands. I also got lessons on how to use the 18v drill for the screws...slow and steady! I think I can now go into construction work (lol), but I won't give up my day job!
Summer is almost 1/2 over and things are hectic. We have seen no relatives and probably won't until the wedding in Squamish. This will be a busy time with having to help Jack for the ceremony plus make the food for the dinner. But should be a great time.
My kids are busy working lots so I have only seen Nicole. Ryan has been working lots of night shifts and some days so we hope to hook up for lunch tomorrow. Breanne is busy with her job and some clients coming to the apartment for various nail applications..so she is enjoying her career. Jack's son Todd was supposed to come out for a visit with Michelle & Ireland but we haven't seen them. Jack's other son Darin, Donna and granddaughter's should be out in August for a visit as well. We were over at Jaelyn's place to see the youngest granddaughter Lacey, on her 2nd birthday. They just returned from a couple of weeks in Saskatoon.
So I will try and attach the picture once we figure it out. Take care and enjoy the rest of summer, I know we will once the fence is down, up and stained...not too much more to do!

Prayers for Many Sick Family Members

We got a call last night from my mom to say that Uncle Elliott suffered a heart attack on Monday in Macrorie. He was with Lorne and Sean shingling a roof and said that he didn't feel well. The boys managed to get him down a ladder and took him back to the farm. Maxine came home and took him to the Outlook hospital, and from there a doctor went with him in an ambulance to the Saskatoon Royal Hospital. The doctors performed an angioplasty and said that he probably needs another one, but do to the fact that the nurses are on strike, only emergency surgery is going on. Well if this isn't an emergency then what is!! I find it so ironic that this Uncle who never smoked, drank and was physically fit could fall to such an ailment. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
Life can throw a real curve at people - some say that it comes in three's so we have had our share. Between Uncle Eliott and his heart attack; Uncle Dana going through his bought of surgery and cancer treatments to follow; but one of the most trying is that my Grandma, who suffers from Alzheimers took a second fall and needed surgery for her broken wrist. My mom and dad are in Edmonton helping to care for her at the home. They have reported that when you look into her eyes, they are blank. She can no longer remember people in the family pictures and no longer wishes to engage in a conversation. Very heart breaking disease with many different reactions - as Brian's mom (Jean) was a very volitile patient with the same disease and suffered for more than 10 years. So for me, if Grandma is silent and quiet, then I feel better then thinking about how Jean suffered with the demons of Alzheimers. No matter what we can all remember Grandma as a much loving women with so many happy memories. But most of all we will still love her for the lady that she is. I love you Grandma.

Father's Day - Thankyou to Fathers

Yesterday was Father's Day and at our house with no kids around, it was a quiet celebration. However, it did make me relive some of the more special days of celebrating over the years. Some years I felt like both Mother's Day and Father's Day were my celebration of surviving another year as a single parent. Then when Jack was in my life he took over the Step-father role and helped me with raising my kids. This is a tribute to him for surviving those years as I know that they weren't easy. He not only nurtured my kids but he helped me to nurture in more of a motherly role than in previous years. Jack, thank you for being the kind of man that you are and thank you for being my children's step-father when they needed that male role model growing up. Love you!

Jack's to Rest

Jack went to the doctor and there is nothing that he can do for Jack. The tests showed 2 kidney stones about 4.7 mil. in diameter on the left side. The end result is just drink plenty of water and wait for them to pass...a good thing or not! I guess that depends on who is doing the passing. But we are relieved that there is nothing more serious. So there is no golf or strenuous work for him to do for a couple of days...just rest. Not my kind of excitement but Jack is fine with this. I will keep posting should something change for the worse. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for the prayers.

Update on Jack's health

Well it looks like we can now get our medical degree's! When Jack took me to have some routine scans and a mammogram this morning, he suffered another major attack. So we went directly to our family doctor. After leaving a sample with the doctor and heading out for an X-ray we should know by tomorrow or sometime this week. The earliest I could get Jack in for an ultrasound is tomorrow morning, so he has to come downtown with me for that. The good thing is that Jack at least received a prescription for some Tylenol 3's to help with the pain. I can't imagine the pain associated with kidney stones. I have had my share of medical issues but this does not sound like one that I would want. the doctor called while I was writing this to say that one stone has been located in the right kidney and he is sure more will be found when he has the ultrasound. Please keep Jack in your prayers that this can be resolved quickly and with as little pain associated with it.
Love to all - hope your health is good!

Our Health

What a week, last week was! We heard more news about cancer and illness then we ever had before. My Uncle Dana, Edmonton found out that his Colon Cancer will be needing further follow up (see Dana's diaries on this blog). We planned and went to Edmonton on Saturday for a visit with him and Rachelle, my aunt. Good visit. The day before we got there we heard that my Grandma (87 yrs) fell getting out of bed and gashed her eyebrow open. She needed to be taken by ambulance and had stitches put in. When we visited with her in Edmonton, we were not prepared to see just how bruised she was. The total left side of her face including 1/2 her top and bottom lip were purple. Both arms and hands were totally swollen and purple. She did quite the number. The sad thing is that with her Alzheimer's she barely remembers falling or getting out of bed. We understand that she gets up several times a night to visit with the staff. We sure hope that she can stay in this part of the ward of the Nursing Home - excellent staff and patients.
To finish out our week we got a call from my parents to say that my Dad's lymph nodes are getting bigger than they had been from last year's tests. We knew that this was a matter of time. The clinic in Saskatoon advises that if he has any other symptoms then he should call the clinic, otherwise he is to wait until next year to have another scan and the doctors will see how much growth has taken place. You would think that with all the medical intervention that we have, that giving chemo right now would shrink what he has. However, my understanding is that the medical group needs to see what kind of chemo he will need as lymphoma never returns the same 2x round.
Then our weekend ended with Jack being sick yesterday all afternoon and evening with lots of pain in his back. Because he has already had his gall bladder out, we suspect that this is the start of kidney stones. He was sick like this just a couple of months ago (thinking it was the flu). Today he was in golf tournament and he said that he didn't golf well, but he made it through.
Please keep all my family in your prayers for continued medical intervention. My uncle who is in his late 50's and still has so much life to live; for my dad that he may not have other symptoms and that the lymph nodes don't grow anymore and stay in remission; for my Grandma that she have peace and recovery from her bad fall. Also I ask for prayers that Jack get some medical help with his sickness and that it not be kidney stones. Life has so much to offer and we all need to enjoy every day in good health and good spirits.