Easter Sunday this year brought back many happy childhood memories. One was going to church as a family (this year my two daughters, Breanne & Nicole came with their 2 babies, Lyla & Wyatt). Plus Jack's son-in-law, Rob came for Easter service and even took communion with me. His wife & girls went back to Saskatoon for Easter/Spring break.
The singing was particularly good with many harmony songs. The communion was at stations (just like stations of the cross or like the Catholic church in coming forward to have communion or just a blessing). This was very encouraging. The only sad thing was not seeing some of the familiar faces that no longer attend for whatever the reason might be. I miss them but I understand the dilemma that they are going through.
Then our day was complete with all of my children & their spouses going to Nicole & Cecil's place for a complete turkey dinner. This was Nicole's first ever turkey, stuffing & gravy making attempt and boy she did a fabulous job. We all brought the rest of the meal and to top it off Breanne made for the first time (all because she had the Easter Egg Platter) deviled eggs. Again, a total surprise.
So to not be done over by his sisters, Ryan made a salad that even included him making candied pecans with cheese & cranberries and on top a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I don't know if I can keep up with them and all their hidden talents. However, I guess that all the entertaining and cooking that I did when they lived at home has paid off for them to realize that KD isn't the only thing to make. I was so very, very proud of each of them for making my memories come to life on this very special day.
I pray that Easter was a special time in each of your hearts and that you had many old and new memories renewed.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Ink is Dry on This One
Well it's official! We have signed off on all the paperwork for the new house. Now when I say new, I mean a hole in the ground that has a basement poured and that's it. After much looking at new and gently used and after my husband hearing from me about "why we shouldn't live in this area or that area" we came to a decision. Okay, I came to a decision (sorry) and put a spec home on hold until I could bring Jack to the showhome.
Jack had a meeting on Tuesday evening and I told him that I was going looking (again) at a showhome in Cranston. His last words (of course before he said he loved me) were "And don't buy house tonight". Obviously his last words of "I love you" must of been etched in my mind because I forgot about the other words. However, being the loving, caring, want to give my wife what she needs/wants came through in the end because he went with me on Wednesday and signed off on all the paperwork as well left a deposit cheque to continue with the building of our very own, brand new, never used home. As well another saying of "A happy wife, is a happy life" comes to mind.
One thing that I must say is that I have listened to so many "new home building folks" and the problems that they have had with selecting items (cupboards, flooring, counter tops etc) and I didn't have any problems with what has already been selected for this home. I guess when the word "upgrade" or "this is an upgrade from the standard" and they were already included in the price...why would I complain or want to change it???? After all my husband loved the price and so let's just go with the "we finally made a decision and we signed/paid for that decision". The best part was that the house was actually listed at one price, then when I was there on Tuesday it had come down a couple of thousand dollars; then when we went Wednesday the price had dropped again so Jack said just before signing, can I come back Thursday and it will be a different price again?
Now we must get ready to list our house next week and see what traffic comes through our (of course) very gently used 1989 house. It will be sad to leave this home as we came into this residence with much heavy baggage from our previously loved house and we watched all three of my kids grow into their teenage years there. Then the beloved grandchildren came to visit and even stay over with me there. As well we have had the best neighbors anyone could ever ask for. Kevin is out before the crack of dawn and makes sure our driveway and front sidewalk is clear of snow (it's usually a race to see who gets there first - him or us) as well his loving wife, Patti has been a true Christian sounding board for me. We have shared highs and lows of each of our families growing up, but I know that we are only across Deerfoot Trail for a visit. But I'm sure the next home will find us getting to know new friends on our block. I'm positive that God will continue to be with us on our journey of house building and selling. Stay tuned........
Jack had a meeting on Tuesday evening and I told him that I was going looking (again) at a showhome in Cranston. His last words (of course before he said he loved me) were "And don't buy house tonight". Obviously his last words of "I love you" must of been etched in my mind because I forgot about the other words. However, being the loving, caring, want to give my wife what she needs/wants came through in the end because he went with me on Wednesday and signed off on all the paperwork as well left a deposit cheque to continue with the building of our very own, brand new, never used home. As well another saying of "A happy wife, is a happy life" comes to mind.
One thing that I must say is that I have listened to so many "new home building folks" and the problems that they have had with selecting items (cupboards, flooring, counter tops etc) and I didn't have any problems with what has already been selected for this home. I guess when the word "upgrade" or "this is an upgrade from the standard" and they were already included in the price...why would I complain or want to change it???? After all my husband loved the price and so let's just go with the "we finally made a decision and we signed/paid for that decision". The best part was that the house was actually listed at one price, then when I was there on Tuesday it had come down a couple of thousand dollars; then when we went Wednesday the price had dropped again so Jack said just before signing, can I come back Thursday and it will be a different price again?
Now we must get ready to list our house next week and see what traffic comes through our (of course) very gently used 1989 house. It will be sad to leave this home as we came into this residence with much heavy baggage from our previously loved house and we watched all three of my kids grow into their teenage years there. Then the beloved grandchildren came to visit and even stay over with me there. As well we have had the best neighbors anyone could ever ask for. Kevin is out before the crack of dawn and makes sure our driveway and front sidewalk is clear of snow (it's usually a race to see who gets there first - him or us) as well his loving wife, Patti has been a true Christian sounding board for me. We have shared highs and lows of each of our families growing up, but I know that we are only across Deerfoot Trail for a visit. But I'm sure the next home will find us getting to know new friends on our block. I'm positive that God will continue to be with us on our journey of house building and selling. Stay tuned........
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Life Continues To Be Very Busy
I can't believe how busy we can all get. Our home (empty Nester's my foot) is hardly empty nor unoccupied. We are so busy, like this past weekend. Jack went to Regina as he sits on the board for Western Christian School. These past couple of months have been very stressful and time consuming for him. He is there again today with more meetings and that after 4 days on the weekend. Hopefully God can help with all the decisions that need to be made and that many folks won't feel hurt or unheard, but that they will wrap their arms around the folks that have to make heavy decisions.
Then while he was gone, I decided that I should have a "Girls Sleepover" party and so both girls came and brought the babies. What a great time - watching chick flicks, eating from Wok Box and then having a fruit/chocolate fondue. We had a great time. I just love being a mother and now a grandmother. These past couple of years has made me treasure my time with my daughters so much more than when they were growing up. I even feel guilty that Ryan is a boy and couldn't share with us on the weekend. I am so involved with my grandbabies and both of the girls reach out and ask for my opinion or my advise on food, formula or just growing up babies. Anyone out there going through the terrible two's or teenage years or just adolescence, just know that I had all of that and now this is the best time ever. God has allowed me to share so much with my kids and get so much back with having my grandbabies. The happiness that I feel for these "kids" is so over whelming that I could just break down in tears. So back to my weekend.....after the girls left late on Saturday, I headed out to look at some show homes (to decide if we are building a new house) and then out with our realator, Kevin to see a home that was built 4 years ago. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything and we will continue to check out homes to see what fits our lifestyle.
Once home from there, grocery shopping and going to Home Depot to pick up some tools, I started to work on our master shower. The dreaded job that I did manually three years ago - stripping out all the ugly grout. Well this time I had an electric drummel, safety glasses, a mask and a light. Nasty job - Sat night for 3 hours and then Sunday for another 3.5 hours. But it is now stripped down. Then I had to get ready for Nicole's 23rd birthday party...chicken fajita's, salad and lemon/blueberry cheesecake...so things to make and places to really clean after the white dust flew. Then Marc & Ryan took out the hide-a-bed & a chair to go to Breanne's place. Plus each kid took some of their personal items to help clean up on the things to be sorted.
So after all the festivities Sunday night came to an end, we were both exhausted for different reasons. But after talking about our weekend we realized that we both accomplished so much in such little time. After much prayer we know that God will see us through our missions and at the end of the day we know that we have done our best.
Then Monday we started all over again - going to work; going out to look at 2 more houses; cleaning up and stacking bins & labeling everything; then Tuesday, Jack flew back to Regina; I went to work to come home and clean up some more bins as well sort through my old "tickle trunk" to have it ready for Breanne to pass onto Lyla with some great dress up clothes. So many happy memories in there.
But all in all we are getting things in place and ready to move onto another chapter in our lives. We just realized that we never have had the opportunity to search out a house together for our life..so this is a new and exciting time and I truly am excited about venturing out to find our dream come true place. Home is where the heart is and where God surrounds us in our day to day routine. He is there in times of happiness, sickness but most of all he is just there.
Then while he was gone, I decided that I should have a "Girls Sleepover" party and so both girls came and brought the babies. What a great time - watching chick flicks, eating from Wok Box and then having a fruit/chocolate fondue. We had a great time. I just love being a mother and now a grandmother. These past couple of years has made me treasure my time with my daughters so much more than when they were growing up. I even feel guilty that Ryan is a boy and couldn't share with us on the weekend. I am so involved with my grandbabies and both of the girls reach out and ask for my opinion or my advise on food, formula or just growing up babies. Anyone out there going through the terrible two's or teenage years or just adolescence, just know that I had all of that and now this is the best time ever. God has allowed me to share so much with my kids and get so much back with having my grandbabies. The happiness that I feel for these "kids" is so over whelming that I could just break down in tears. So back to my weekend.....after the girls left late on Saturday, I headed out to look at some show homes (to decide if we are building a new house) and then out with our realator, Kevin to see a home that was built 4 years ago. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything and we will continue to check out homes to see what fits our lifestyle.
Once home from there, grocery shopping and going to Home Depot to pick up some tools, I started to work on our master shower. The dreaded job that I did manually three years ago - stripping out all the ugly grout. Well this time I had an electric drummel, safety glasses, a mask and a light. Nasty job - Sat night for 3 hours and then Sunday for another 3.5 hours. But it is now stripped down. Then I had to get ready for Nicole's 23rd birthday party...chicken fajita's, salad and lemon/blueberry cheesecake...so things to make and places to really clean after the white dust flew. Then Marc & Ryan took out the hide-a-bed & a chair to go to Breanne's place. Plus each kid took some of their personal items to help clean up on the things to be sorted.
So after all the festivities Sunday night came to an end, we were both exhausted for different reasons. But after talking about our weekend we realized that we both accomplished so much in such little time. After much prayer we know that God will see us through our missions and at the end of the day we know that we have done our best.
Then Monday we started all over again - going to work; going out to look at 2 more houses; cleaning up and stacking bins & labeling everything; then Tuesday, Jack flew back to Regina; I went to work to come home and clean up some more bins as well sort through my old "tickle trunk" to have it ready for Breanne to pass onto Lyla with some great dress up clothes. So many happy memories in there.
But all in all we are getting things in place and ready to move onto another chapter in our lives. We just realized that we never have had the opportunity to search out a house together for our life..so this is a new and exciting time and I truly am excited about venturing out to find our dream come true place. Home is where the heart is and where God surrounds us in our day to day routine. He is there in times of happiness, sickness but most of all he is just there.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Moving on Up
Great title...or is it? There are many things in life that we can adjust to and work towards, but one of the many hard things is MOVING. Okay it's not the moving but the packing up, throwing out or just deciding what to keep and what to give away. The last time this happened was in 1997 and we didn't have to do anything as some little juvenile criminals did the damage and our insurance company paid for a company to come in and pack up all of our treasurers and then move us. Now ten years later it's our turn to pack up our belongings and move on to a new chapter in our life.
We don't know where were going or even when.
If we thought that deciding what to pack; what to give-away; and what to throw away was tough, now we need to decide what to live in and then get there. Of course that's the half of it, but we also need to get our current house ready to sell. And anyone that has sold a house knows, there are many little & big things to get done before you can even list it. We have only a few things to fix but it's the de-cluttering that is the challenge. We have things left over from the kids and now we have added baby things again because of the grand kids. So we have an adventure ahead of us. But we know that this will be wonderful, challenging time as we decide on what's best for our future. Being an empty nester has it's rewards and benefits and I love my Life, as ut can't get any better.
We don't know where were going or even when.
If we thought that deciding what to pack; what to give-away; and what to throw away was tough, now we need to decide what to live in and then get there. Of course that's the half of it, but we also need to get our current house ready to sell. And anyone that has sold a house knows, there are many little & big things to get done before you can even list it. We have only a few things to fix but it's the de-cluttering that is the challenge. We have things left over from the kids and now we have added baby things again because of the grand kids. So we have an adventure ahead of us. But we know that this will be wonderful, challenging time as we decide on what's best for our future. Being an empty nester has it's rewards and benefits and I love my Life, as ut can't get any better.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Uplifting Sermon
Last night (like most Saturday evenings lately) we went to First Alliance Church. What a great building, wonderful people but the message was the best. I know that we have now heard four different ministers and each one has left me with the feeling, "now that's a sermon" and what a message for the week. I found myself taking notes last night and trust me that is something that I have never felt inclined to do. The sermon last night was about all of us having a small knapsack that we carry with life's burdens. The message talked about us carrying our personal, business, and general life's business of burdens around with us all day/night. The message was clear, concise and I got it! Terry (the minister) filled this small knapsack with small rocks as being our burdens. Not only did I get it, but I could relate to the message. What an evening! Then when we were sitting and having coffee in the foyer one of the young woman that works at our sister-company, came over to find out how long we had been attending this church. She knows Jack's brother & niece from Yellowknife - so this was a great connection with someone that is also very enthralled with the messages being delivered. I feel blessed to be living near a church that can leave a person with a feeling of peace, understanding but most of all with a message that says God is here to help us all with our burdens. We just need to pray and trust in him to let his words help us so that we can lose the burdens. And the people all said "AMEN"!
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010 - A New Year/New Beginning
Here we are January 1, 2010 - is that twenty ten or two thousand and ten? I have heard both in the past 10 days and know that I will soon decide for myself which way I will say the new year.
Every year at this time people make resolutions to try and make changes in their lives both personally, professionally and even healthy or medical. Which did you make? We hear this through the media as well. I sometimes wonder why we proclaim to make one resolution knowing that we might not achieve our goal. But is the reason to make it - a reason to fail. If were not happy about something in our lives then if we make a decision to change it, we should work harder to achieve the goal?
I know that 2009 brought both Jack and I some medically challenging times; some excitement and achievement in personal development; goals for reaching marital pinnacle that we might not of thought ever possible; and the best was receiving God's greatest gifts - son-in-laws and grandchildren.
But once again we have to do self examination for setting goals for ourselves on a personal, career and couple basis. What do we want to change in each of these areas to make us better people? Where do we see ourselves when (twenty ten) 2010 comes to an end and we ask ourselves if we reached everyone of our goals? I know that after becoming a Grandmother has made me want to be a better woman in showing my daughters and grandchildren a new "godly way of life" and to have a belief even stronger than I had in 2009. I want to read the bible more and know more about women in the bible -something that I have thought about for quite sometime. I want more for my job and be a better employee (especially in these times of uncertainty). I also want a better marriage and work on the areas that I know I can improve on to make myself a better wife. I want to be able to help Jack become a better husband; also help him in having a better career and doing what he is passionate about; I want to have both of us continue with our health plan and be more conscientious about what we eat and work out more.
So, that is how (twenty ten) 2010 looks for me - did you make your New Year plan and can you say that you hope to make it to December 2010 and mark off your list as being completed; I know that I hope to be able to do this. Happy New Year my friends and good luck with your plan.
Every year at this time people make resolutions to try and make changes in their lives both personally, professionally and even healthy or medical. Which did you make? We hear this through the media as well. I sometimes wonder why we proclaim to make one resolution knowing that we might not achieve our goal. But is the reason to make it - a reason to fail. If were not happy about something in our lives then if we make a decision to change it, we should work harder to achieve the goal?
I know that 2009 brought both Jack and I some medically challenging times; some excitement and achievement in personal development; goals for reaching marital pinnacle that we might not of thought ever possible; and the best was receiving God's greatest gifts - son-in-laws and grandchildren.
But once again we have to do self examination for setting goals for ourselves on a personal, career and couple basis. What do we want to change in each of these areas to make us better people? Where do we see ourselves when (twenty ten) 2010 comes to an end and we ask ourselves if we reached everyone of our goals? I know that after becoming a Grandmother has made me want to be a better woman in showing my daughters and grandchildren a new "godly way of life" and to have a belief even stronger than I had in 2009. I want to read the bible more and know more about women in the bible -something that I have thought about for quite sometime. I want more for my job and be a better employee (especially in these times of uncertainty). I also want a better marriage and work on the areas that I know I can improve on to make myself a better wife. I want to be able to help Jack become a better husband; also help him in having a better career and doing what he is passionate about; I want to have both of us continue with our health plan and be more conscientious about what we eat and work out more.
So, that is how (twenty ten) 2010 looks for me - did you make your New Year plan and can you say that you hope to make it to December 2010 and mark off your list as being completed; I know that I hope to be able to do this. Happy New Year my friends and good luck with your plan.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Grandparenting is Great!
Well the month of December rolled around with the addition of two more Grandsons. Todd & Michelle had a baby boy, Ty on Friday, December 4th. Tylan Wils Ashby came into this world weighing in at a healthy 9lbs 7 oz. Grandpa Jack happened to be in Regina at meetings and was able to drive up to Saskatoon to see his first born grandson (after having seen all 7 granddaughters post birth). Jack was thrilled to have a grandson to carry on the Ashby name.
Then on Friday, December 11th, Nicole & Cecil delivered by c-section a healthy baby boy - Wyatt Alexander Prins. Wyatt weighed in at 7lbs 9oz; 20.5" long and is the mirrored image of his dad. Hard to believe that each daughter could have babies and have one look like one and the other look nothing like her!
Jack and I feel very blessed to have been given the pleasure of three grand babies born so close to together at the end of 2009. We are truly basking in the baby mode these days. I have purchased a pink and blue stocking for the mantle to welcome the 2 new Calgary babies and look forward to putting many treasurers into them. I bought bible story books for them when I first heard that the girls were expecting and I look forward to reading with them as they get older. All of these first experiences I get to share with these little treasurers and help mold them into God loving children. I pray that we can bring them to church and have them be part of a great team in showing and teaching about God's work.
Christmas has always been a special time at our home and now I feel that this will be the pinnacle never having been reached before. I do look forward to having our family near by and sharing with these young families all the experiences and richness of the season. May God enter their hearts & souls and warm them into wanting to be part of a church family so that other's can help nurture and surround them with his love. This is my Christmas wish for them.
Then on Friday, December 11th, Nicole & Cecil delivered by c-section a healthy baby boy - Wyatt Alexander Prins. Wyatt weighed in at 7lbs 9oz; 20.5" long and is the mirrored image of his dad. Hard to believe that each daughter could have babies and have one look like one and the other look nothing like her!
Jack and I feel very blessed to have been given the pleasure of three grand babies born so close to together at the end of 2009. We are truly basking in the baby mode these days. I have purchased a pink and blue stocking for the mantle to welcome the 2 new Calgary babies and look forward to putting many treasurers into them. I bought bible story books for them when I first heard that the girls were expecting and I look forward to reading with them as they get older. All of these first experiences I get to share with these little treasurers and help mold them into God loving children. I pray that we can bring them to church and have them be part of a great team in showing and teaching about God's work.
Christmas has always been a special time at our home and now I feel that this will be the pinnacle never having been reached before. I do look forward to having our family near by and sharing with these young families all the experiences and richness of the season. May God enter their hearts & souls and warm them into wanting to be part of a church family so that other's can help nurture and surround them with his love. This is my Christmas wish for them.
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