never ever a dull moment....

First of all, our dear friend David passed away the other day, and there have been so many tears around here. We knew Dave since back when we were first married. He was a true friend, so extremely easy to talk to, a confidant, honest, encouraging, and faithful to God in everything. His chief aim in life was to take each trial seriously, and he had plenty of trials. With a wife and eight children, then being diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus 12 years ago when their youngest was just a baby, right after finishing up a master's degree in Hospital Administration, (in addition to his other degrees, he was a very smart man).


Last night we went to calling hours for him. What can I even say? He's in a better place, but we're going to miss him like crazy. He wrote a blog, cnystahl.wordpress.com, The Cancer Chronicles, and he was funny, even when things were dire.

Also, a tree fell on Emily's house. The three girls were all sleeping in their upstairs bedrooms, but the angels were watching where this tree fell, as it hit the back of the house:

So the girls are all right, but they woke to a mighty crash, and their deck is in smithereens.

Paul and I had the pleasure of an outing with our friends, as Karen turned 66! There's a nice place up on Lake Ontario that gives one free chicken wing for each year of your life, so yes, 66 chicken wings!

Karen and her husband...:)

And my daughter Kathryn is leaving on Saturday to go to Oregon, she misses her fiancé' too much. She will be back, then will be leaving again, as she is getting married and moving out there, wah. It's a new beginning for her, but my heart aches. It's just not fair that you have these kids in your lives, then they up and leave, ha.

We are planning our trip to Florida, now Paul says he's not sure if he can go, work-wise, so we'll be left figuring things out last minute, we should have a van rented already, but oh well.

Also we're looking at plane tickets for Norway for this summer! Yay! Hopefully Paul and I, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jon, and Charlotte Claire will be going. Ben and Ashley and their two daughterss will be going too. And Abigail. Maybe Margaret and Adrian.

I am also going on a huge trip, one month from today I'll be in Mexico! Yes, I am going on vacation! Then Florida a few weeks after that, then to Norway in March for a sisters' conference, with Emily, Abigail, and Mariel, how sweet is it that they will travel with their mama?

Lydia is here, she spent the night last night, and Anne is coming any minute. I'll be having Anne every day for a bit, as her other babysitter is on school break from college, and is going on a little trip herself, to Florida with Emily.
(I usually have her two or three days a week)

So, today I'm going to be brave and attempt to take both Anne and Lydia out and about! We need a library trip, and a quick trip to Aldi. I used to do it with my own littles all the time, so it should be fine. Car seats and diaper bags and sleeves of crackers, right?

(I always had a sleeve of crackers in my purse, way back when)...which reminds me of a funny story. The day we brought Margaret home from the hospital, which was Christmas Eve, back 22 years ago, I of course went to my brother's house with 8 of our nine children, Paul stayed home with Mariel because she had the throw-up bug. So I brought my newborn baby, and all of the other kids, because it was the best night of the year for them, to be with all of their cousins. When it was time to leave, the roads were snowy and icy and I was feeling a bit woozy and tired, so my brother offered to drive us home, with my other brother following in his car. Anyways, he asked me where my keys were so he could warm up the van, and I directed him to my coat pocket...well. He said he was never putting his hand in my coat pocket again! There was a cookie in there. It HAD been a cookie anyway, before it turned into mushy crumbs. I remember going in to a store a few weeks previously, with lots of kids, and they were handing out Christmas cookies...one of the kids took a few bites and didn't want it, so, into my pocket it went.

Ah well. Our washing machine is still broken. Kathryn washed some clothes and towels at Emily's house yesterday, and brought them home to dry. The part should arrive on Saturday, hopefully Paul will get it fixed. Have you noticed that we aren't the Call The Repairman kind of family?

And, one thing I am going to be working on in the next few months, is hoeing out the house. I am not going totally minimalist, but for ME, minimalist, ha. I am the Have Tons of Each Thing Just In Case kind of person. Hairbrushes, hair clips, coffee scoops...we have like six coffee scoops. Reading glasses, I used to have pairs everywhere. But now I have them all put (shh, lost, ha), and have only one pair to keep track of, and it's a teensy bit easier, but I won't lie. Seventy five times a day, I am asking if anyone knows where they are.

So I want to get rid of more stuff, minimalize more, organize more. I like less clutter, and now that the tree is gone, and all the trimmings and trappings put away, it seems calmer in here. And I like it. Now the toys, they're going to present a challenge, because I love them dearly, and love the joy the kids get when they come here and play...

Here's a pic of Paul and I on New Year's Day...matchy-matchy!