Cheesy Message...

a note to me from Daniel at supper tonight...cheese grated for chili became a sweet message...he was rather proud of his first o...

thankful hearts....

Many of you may remember that last year our friends Tom and Leah laid their wee Annabelle to rest. Today they gave birth to a beautiful HEALTHY baby girl named Josephine Karen Willett. We are all so very happy and so very thankful for this wonderful gift.

SHE'S AWAKE!!!!

Head over to Nate's blog and celebrate with them as Tricia is now awake and is being filled in on the goings on of the last weeks. Baby Gwenyth is doing well too with the scan showing no bleed on her wee brain. God is so good!!!

PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!

A precious family is in need of many prayers right now. Nate is holding vigil over the two girls in his life. His wife Tricia has cystic fybrosis and was preparing for a double lung transplant. They discovered that she was pregnant so things were put on hold. It became necessary to deliver their wee daughter at 24 weeks as Tricia was having serious trouble. Gwenyth weighed only 1lb and 6ozs. She is a beautiful girl and can use many prayers as she has a long road ahead. Tricia is on a vent and is sedated much of the time. The waking process is hard for her and she has a hard road ahead as well... as her husband says, it has been one week that Gwenyth has been awake and one week that Tricia has been asleep. Nate keeps a running story as things progress on his blog and I know he would love to know that you are lifting his girls up in prayer.

Mom, it's hard not to say that I am hungry at Gram's!!!

One of many plates of shrimp, note the stuffed cheek as well!!!

A drumstick or two as well.... a few glasses of eggnog and don't forget the sausage rolls and pie and ice-cream !!!!!!!!

It's a shame that all he puts in does not result in a growth spurt! In fact, it doesn't seem to do anything! He still has ribs that stick out, and tiny little arms...

According to Sam...

Sam: Mom, snowflakes are very calm...

Me: Yes Sam they sure are...

Sam: They are super quiet...

Me: No, they don't make a sound do they?

Sam: Yeah...just like cheese!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We awoke New Years Eve to a storm, but were determined not to miss our time with Karen and family. We got everyone out of bed and fed and hit the road. It wasn't too bad at first and going thirty kms below the speed linit ensured that we stayed on the road...

As we kept going it got a bit worse, and what is normally a one hour drive door to door ended up being just under two hours. Not too bad all things considered...

the hilarity started the moment we arrived and didn't stop until we left the next night...Mr Bean marathons, snowboarding, jewellery making, chocolate eating, MASH reruns, a walk in the dark which ended up as a huge snowball fight with kids trouncing parents, fabulous food, tired parents who wonder if we are getting old, hotwings at midnight making us wonder who would be up in the wee morning hours, our traditional hike regardless of season New Year's day in the woods, on and on it went...we made our way home again after supper on New Years day and everyone was snoring within minutes of getting on the road. A fabulous time was had by all, a wonderful way to start the year! Hoping it is a sign of what the year holds!!!

Joseph, Daniel and Adam checking out their crackers...much better treats than when we were kids! The hats of course remain the same...

enjoying the treats in the crackers....Sam so very hot that he came to the table stripped...

chocolate fondue to hype the kids up...it all resulted in a walk around the resevoir in the dark which proved to be much fun for all...especially the dogs.

Audrey and Claire so happy to have made it into the new year awake and dancing! Moments later they were all ushered to bed and they crashed shortly thereafter. We did too!

First thing in the morning while waiting for waffles, the boys got into a poker game....

where we start...

what is beside us much of the way until we get deeper into the woods...

trying to find just the right walking stick for Sam...

Daniel and Adam never stayed on teh path as it was much more fun to leap over water and break a new trail....

Sam managaed to keep up despit the short thick legs...his walking stick proved helpful...

crazy ice formations at the edge of the stream running down the hillside ....

an old barbed wire fence...seemingly so harsh against the softness of the snow....

water in the woods...one had to be careful not to land in any such spots...

Claire finding it hard walking at times but loving it all the same...

Claire and Audrey stuck together most of the time, navigating the terrain together....

fox tracks leading who knows where...they were everywhere!

heavy laden branches meeting the water....

such a tranquil spot to settle for a snack...

Karen getting water from teh stream so we could have hot chocolate and tea...

Andrew's handy hanging contraption so we didn't have to stand holding the pot...

some of the gang enjoying the warm drinks...

water flowing under the ice....