Germain Gang

Summer Vacation is on.

Well, our summer is underway and I'm already tired.  It might just be the heat.  Today it's 33 degrees Celsius.  Thankful the pool is warm as I've been swimming a bit.  I'm not complaining that's for sure because we get enough rain and cold in the winter so this is awesome weather we are having right now.

My favourite fruit is in season right now and we are enjoying an abundance of "raspberries". Yum.  I have made raspberry cheesecake...raspberry viniagrette...raspberries and cream...just plain raspberries...raspberry shortcake...you get the picture.  Plus, I put 40 pounds in the freezer to make raspberry jelly later. I am not doing much this summer...I am still working on this "tennis elbow" thing and so any amount of work causes pain...and trying to use my left hand for everything is also difficult....so I am taking it easy this summer and just sitting around doing only what absolutely needs doing...and with five kids still home, that's busy enough.

We took the kids to the ocean and for ice-cream...and now Anika says she has touched her feet in the North Atlantic Ocan and now the Pacific Ocean..it was exciting, not to mention we all had our favourite ice-cream...mine is "tiger"...delicious!  The tide was out so we were able to walk quite a ways out.

Dh and I also made our first "beer can chicken"...or others call it, "beer up the butt" chicken.  It turned out amazing.  Next time though we will leave in on the barbeque 1/2 hour longer..but the flavour was unbelievable.  I went on the internet to look up recipes and there were hundreds of them, so dh and I just came up with our own rub and everyone loved it.

The boys got the go-kart out from the garage and pumped up the tires washed it and even got it started on their own.  Last year they couldn't really touch the peddles very easily but this year well.....my boys are growing up too quickly for "this mama"....but it was fun watching them tearing around the grapes and through the long grass.  They had a blast....so did dad!!!!

We are reading Daniel Boone right now...and because the weather was so great today we took our blankets and I read to the kids under the big tree in the back yard...I sat in our wonderful Muskoka chair and the kids laid on the blankets...it was fun.  I finally got a sore throat from reading so we all laid on the blankets while the kids  talked about all kinds of things...we all told story after story until I got a whopper of a headache...so Anika decided to massage my head so I wouldn't go inside...she loves listening to my stories...she even braided my hair.  It was a fun afternoon.  Of course every once in a while the wind would blow a certain way and it was "chicken poo smell" everywhere....then thankfully the wind would shift and it was beautiful trees and grass smell.  Oh the joys of living in the country.  God is so good!

Our cherry tree is producing lots of fruit this year...but unfortunately the birds are getting more than we are. Any ideas how to keep the crows away? 

Well, that about sums up our past week....looking forward to the weekend. 

Happy "4th of July to all my US blogging friends

and

Happy Birthday to my sister!

Summer Days

Due to some Flickr problems I wasn't able to upload some photos ealier, but now I can.  Hmmm.

These are pics of my sweet Itty Bitty enjoying Father's Day with her great-grandpa

These are the big kids while we were camping.  Itty Bitty was off playing somewhere and not interested in having her picture taken

Tomatoes are starting to show up in the garden.  I'm excited to start canning!

My cucumber vines are over four feet tall now, and have dozens of baby cukes all over them.  I use my great-grandmother's dill pickle recipe.  It is the best!

Itty Bitty loves being in the garden as much as we do!

The white boxes that I have my squash planted in are old bee hive boxes. 

Happy Trails!

The Seasons Change

Well, the seasons are already changing around here.  No, the leaves are not turning their autumn reds and gold.  It is a changing of the season of "fortune."  Earlier this summer we were thrilled with our new bee hive, and the new queen in our old hive,  our sweet little chicks, the new raspberry canes, apple tree, asparagus popping up in its bed, and so on.  But the seasons always change.....

A skunk got in to our chicken coop and killed three of our laying hens, and one of the baby Barred Rocks.  We are down to one laying hen and are waiting on 9 pullets to start laying over the next few months. 

The new queen bee layed some eggs at first, but then stopped, and the eggs she did lay just dried up. 

The new hive was a swarm from one of my friends' hive.  The queen seems to still be virgin and she is too old (four weeks) to mate now.  That's two hives (my only two) gone in one year.  I just don't know what to do with all these bees without queens.  If anyone has any advise, please advise!!! 

Out of the fourty asparagus plants I planted, only 14 came up and then 11 of those just turned yellow and died.  That's a whole year lost on the first three years of waiting for the first harvest!

My strawberries just didn't really produce this year.  I get a few each day, but nothing like I was expecting.  And they are not sending off runners.  I was really counting of them multiplying.

Like I said, the seasons have changed.  The seasons always change....

This too shall pass.

Happy Trails and a good season to you all!

Lifting....Moving?

Well today I am tired.  I have been helping our daughter move boxes from her rental suite into her new home.  Her dh is still away on business, so we have been trying hard to help her. 

Last night after Karisa's graduation from Bible school we headed over to load up the van and take it to the new place.  Today her, I and the boys took two more loads.  I was so proud of the boys as they were trying hard to lift everything.  Truth be told we sure would not have finished as quickly as we did without them.  My boys are turning into little men.  (growing too fast).  Karisa was so proud of them and when her dh phoned he too was proud of them for all their work. (She took us to Tim's and Wendy's for lunch). Dh  feels so bad about not being home for their first year anniversary...his best friends wedding today and moving into their first home together.  Tomorrow his dad and brother will help move the largest things in the dad's trailer. 

I found out I have carpal tunnel in my right hand and it's spread so now I have Tennis elbow.  I should be wearing a special band and not using my right arm...but hopefully when this move is over I can rest.  I do know for sure I will not be helping them paint...I think that would kill my arm forever.

Oh yes...now for the questions Moving?  Yes, it's true we have decided that it's probably time to move.  This is going to sound really strange considering I am on a homestead blogging group.  Everyone here is either in the country...preparing to move to the country or saving desperately to live in the country....and we are now deciding to leave the country life.

I think I am tired of the work.  My right arm has been so bad lately....all the years of pruning as taken it's toll.  And now we have chickens and I cannot stand the mess.  Stephanie takes care of the chickens for 95% of the time and she always comes into the house stinking like chicken poo!!!!  I hate that smell.  Plus she is getting tired of me always making her change her clothes....  and it's at least three time a day because the smell just lingers on her clothes.  Everyone in the house is sick of the smell that follows Stephanie around.   There is so much work to do on this property and no time.  Dh is working so much now that he is a manager, that there is no time for farming.  And our boys are still too young to use the tractor.  Our daughter that use to do all the mowing has a life of her own and working so that leaves everything to me.  And it just doesn't seem worth it anymore.  I cannot keep on top of everything...and I need to be organized and I cannot stand dirt or mess.  I think this place is just not set up properly and that is driving me crazy.

For example...we spent so much time working on our garden to have it all drown...not the proper location.  Then the year before that when the garden did do good the neighbours horses got through and destroyed the entire garden and ate all our corn....again, lousy location.  And because this is a vineyard, there really is no other place for gardening. 

I guess I'm just feeling overwhelmed with it all and decided (we decided) that there might be more important things for us right now.  Spending time with our kids in different ways.  We have become a slave to this place and we said whenever that happened it was time to go.   Now our three oldest have graduated and there is no reason holding us here.  The younger three can go to any school and it won't be as big a deal until they hit high school...so that helps alot.

I will say this place has been wonderful.  Living just a few minutes down the road from Audrey has been the best few years of my life...I'm going to miss it.  We have learned how to prune grapes, make wine from beginning to end....now raising our own chickens for meat.  We definitely have fulfilled some of our dreams out here and for that we are ever grateful to God...plus my daughter says that if we would not have moved here, she would not be married now to the best guy.

I will miss the peace and quiet but hopefully we will find a place where there is no one behind us...maybe backing onto a park or field or something like that.  We aren't just going to settle for anything.  We are not forced to move quickly, so we will take our time for just the right place. 

So this evening we are heading out with our realtor to look at six houses.  We have already looked at a few but said no to all of them....so the search continues.

Well, my daughter wants to have tea before she heads off to the wedding without her hubby....she is not very excited to go without him....so I better have tea with her.

Don't worry...

I had someone email me and ask if my friendship with Audrey was over....NO IT IS NOT!!!!  It will never be over.  I was just sharing what is going on in MY life...my feelings.  Afterall, it's MY blog. 

I have been spending a lot of time at home....and that's a good thing.  But sometimes we a need change.  And I think country living can get a little lonely.  There can be weeks where I never speak to another female at all....have no adult conversations.  And I don't think that is how God intended our lives to be. 

Before Audrey's cancer, we did everything together....talked almost every day.  And then all of a sudden "bam"....I think it's only hitting me now, that I am feeling quite lonely for other female companionship/friendship.  I spend all day every day in these same four walls taking care of our children and especially our special needs daughter.  She is with me 24/7...and it's exhausting.  I guess I just need a break. 

Don't get me wrong...I love being a stay-at-home mom.  There is no place I'd rather be....but God created us as social beings....and up until six months ago, my life has been very social.  And sometimes just caring for a special needs child with hardly any break,  can become very tiring.  At least when I was out with Audrey even though S was with us...we had a blast.  We were always laughing or crying...or both at the same time.  We have done and said the craziest things...she keeps me young.  I haven't laughed hard like that in a long time.  And it's time for some laughter again.

So please don't take my last post as anything but my heart.  Audrey and her family are the dearest and most incredible friends one could ever ask for...there is no way I would ever give them up.  But as I'm sure Audrey understands from reading all these posts, she needs other woman who have gone through Breast cancer...she needs support and understanding in ways that I cannot possible help.  She needs to hear wisdom, encouragement from those who have gone through everything she has gone through.  She has bird friends that help her....I'm not interested in birds, so those friends fill something as well.  And I know that she feels the same way about our family as we do her's.  Love like that can never be broken.

So this is the end of this subject....just remember, blogs are for sharing our hearts, thoughts and family...basically journaling in cyberspace.  But I do thank you for caring.  It is great to have other woman to converse with through blogland.  So many of you have become very near and dear to my heart.  I remember when I couldn't get a hold of Gloria, I was so worried that the tornado had gone through and some horrible had happened....but thankfully she was just away with family.  So all of you women out there who faithfully leave comments on my blog, you have become a very important part of my life and even though we will probably never meet personally (which is too bad), know that I always enjoy checking in to see how you are doing...and pray for you when you ask.

So blessings to all my dear blogging friends.

What's important?

In the past few months our lives have been so busy that we have forgotten what's important.  We have chickens that need tending too every few hours (or so).  Children in school.  A husband who is a manager and works lots (even from home).  Running here and there....and at the end of the day, too tired to do anything else but go to bed. (which in itself is one of my favourite things to do).

But this week has been especially hard...maybe PMS...who knows.  But I felt a bit insecure (as my dh put it).  We realized that our marriage and family needed a bit of an "overhaul".  We have not tended to the most important things in our lives...and that is marriage and family.

This weekend was a very profound weekend for me...kind of like a "wake up call".  Saturday started out with a Thai picnic.  That is where all the families in the area who have adopted from Thailand meet together.  We do this once a year.  Last year we missed because our daughter got married that day.  So this year I was so excited to see everyone.  We had an absolute blast...as the pictures will atest too.  The kids especially Daniel and M (Audrey's daughter)... were in their glory.  It was like they were "home" in their country.  It gave them a sense of who they are and something we will not forget.  We talked about it going home...and it was a true blessing to have all the Thai children together.  M and Daniel are such good friends and I suppose will be forever.

Then on Sunday being Father's day was another incredible day.  Dh had to work in the morning so we missed church as I didn't want to go without him...especially on that day.  So we stayed home and prepared a wonderful "late lunch" for our family.  Karisa is home right now because her husband is away on business and she hates staying by herself.   Karisa decided that all the kids needed to make Father's Day cards for dad.  So here were my six children all sitting around the dining room table with a load full of craft supplies making cards for their dad.  It brought tears to my eyes...because there are days when I feel that we are not the best parents...and dad is sometimes too busy.  But, let's just say that dad was crying reading every single card he received.  I only managed to get a few photos of them working...and some had already finished by the time I thought of the camera (as usual).

After dh got home and we had a wonderful dinner....all eight of us around the table...WOW, it was great!   DH wanted to take all the kids kite flying but it rained so we opted to watch a movie.  We set the TV room up and put all the pillows from our house on the floor with blankets.  DH made three different kinds of popcorn...Tianna and Karisa bought the kids candy and pop.  It was so much fun!  The kids were so excited.  It was a blessed day!

But then comes Monday, and the let down.  Won't go into details because it's borning....but let's just say that is when I realized what's important in life?  My family. So dh and I talked about it and decided we needed to make a few changes.  We need to spend more time as a family doing things...and not always things that cost money.

At the end of the day, family and friends are what's important.  As most of you know Audrey has been dealing with breast cancer...and Praise God she has come through it!  But not only has this been the most incredible journey of her life...it's changed me as well. 

Audrey and I use to do everything together...we were "partners in crime"...been across the country and back...been to Africa and back.  She is my children's second mother...life is boring without her.  But because she needed to focus on just surviving all the chemo and being incredibly tired...our time together has taken a back seat....and rightly so!  But it has been incredibly hard for me....it has made my life incredibly lonely at times.  But on the flip side she has reunited with her sister...made some incredible friends who have been through cancer and have survived.  Audrey needs that right now and probably forever....it's a gift from the Lord; so I don't want to take that away from her.  I cannot possibly understand the things she is going through because I have never been in that position...but support groups for her can and do. 

So up until Audrey's cancer, I really didn't need anyone else.  I had my niece Grace and her family and I had Audrey and her family.  Life was good and full.  But that has changed now....and the loneliness has set in.  Dh has been working so much and we see Grace and her family....they also have a life outside of us...so I need some "spice up" in my life.

My life will always be interwined with Audrey and her family...just for the simple fact that our children are from Thailand and will always have a bond...but Audrey is my 'sister' and nothing and no one will ever take that away.

Anyway,  I love living in the country...raising your own meat and the peace and quiet of country living....but it's changed now.  I need something more.  So dh and I have decided to take our children away a few times this summer.  We are going to do day trips until this batch of chickens are culled.  And then we are going to take a mini-holiday.  (More on that in a later post).  We are also joining a "hiking club".  And will take the kids hiking with other families...meeting new people. 

I realized that memory making with my children and husband is so very important and lacking a bit.  At the end of your life...you won't really care about much else other than family and your friends.  Our daughters sister-in-law works at a seniors home and she says that when older people there don't have family coming to visit...they are more sick and die more quickly than those who have family visiting on a regular basis.  She could not believe the difference in the lives of the seniors because of family.  She told my daughter (this past weekend) that some of the folks are so lonely and tell her that their children hardly ever visit because they didn't spend much time with their children growing up...other things were more important.  And now that they are old...they are reaping what they have sown.  How very sad....but so true.

I don't want to be one of those families where my children don't care enough to visit.   I don't want them to look back and see that mom and dad put other things in their lives that were more important then their own children....how sad and lonely that would be! 

So as I close this very, very long post....each of us must look at our lives and make sure that what's most important (and we each have to decide for ourselves what that is), not be neglected. 

Be blessed this day with your family.

Running around...Gelato

(pictures have nothing to do with the post...just thought they were gorgeous--taken outside our kitchen window)

Today was one of those days where I didn't get much accomplished.  All I was doing was running around here and there.  I got 30 pounds of strawberries.  Tomorrow I will be making jam...and the rest will go in the freezer for winter.  Plus I will save some for eating fresh and I'm going to try and new fresh strawberry dessert.  Will post the recipe if it turns out okay.

Dropped dd off with her caregiver.  It's always nice to have a break from her. Drove around trying to hunt down my daughter who I couldn't get a hold of on her cell.  Like what's with that....isn't that the reason our children have cell phones so we can contact them when we need to??  Anyway, her teacher needed a signature for one of her courses as today is the FINAL day of school.

I cannot believe that our youngest bio daughter is now out of high school.  Where oh where has the time gone?  It seems only yesterday she was born and now that part of her life is over.  She hopes to be working for the summer and fall....then she will be going to Australia with YWAM and then doing her ministry part in Thailand. 

Our married daughter has moved home for a few days.  Her husband is away for a few weeks on business and she HATES sleeping in her place alone. She will go home for the weekend and her girlfriend will spend the weekend with her.  Then next week, our dd will spend a few nights.  So we are going to take advantage of her this evening....dh and I are having a "date night"...can hardly wait.  We are going to go for a Pistachio Gelato...Yummy! (I think--I've never had one before)...but dh says they are awesome.  Actually, anything will be yummy just to be out on a date with my hubby!

Well, that's all for now...I hope to be back blogging on a regular basis.  My finger is doing much better.  Still stiff in the morning, but trying to rest it throughout the day and use my left hand.

Wings Like Eagles

Just thought I'd share a few pics of Wings Like Eagles, the horse camp I volunteer with.  We teach kids with special needs how to do trick horse back riding to help build up self confidence, trust, and "thive". 

This is my nephew, who is out here from Florida visiting with us for a couple weeks.  Since I'm at camp all day, he gets to come too!

The Stand

The "Dead Man's Flip"  (we always work with spotters)

Feeding the bottle babies!

This and That

Not much to write about.  Took Stephanie to see the surgeon who did her jaw surgery.  She has been wearing braces for a long time and we have come to a stand still.  The bands that are to pull the teeth down don't seem to be working any longer.  The ortho wanted us to see the surgeon just in case there was something he could do.

We have four options...but instead of explaining all the options here...we have decided (probably) to do option one....and that is to do "nothing".  So we will finish up with the braces as right now they are just aligning the teeth so everything matches but after that we will remove the braces and leave her jaw alone.   It seems the back teeth will probably never touch, but at least now she has 12 teeth touching instead of just two. 

The forth option would have been to go and do another surgery and adjust the bottom jaw again...but that would be too traumatic for dd.

Came home and did nothing else....I was so "bagged" that I needed a nap.  Driving makes me incredibly tired.  I always want to fall asleep when I'm driving...been like that since I was small.  I guess that explains who dh doesn't like to let me drive long distances. 

Well, that's about it....told you there was nothing interesting.  Hope each of you have a wonderful evening.

Recap

USB Fixed...pictures as promised

Sorry that it's been awhile.  Life has gotten away from me  lately.  I am also having problems with my USB and therefore cannot download any pictures from my camera.  Hopefully dh will rectify this problem SOON!!

So to recap our life since my last post...  Our children are almost finished school for the summer...yahoo!  I will get a long needed break from driving every day.  The children had their track & field meet last week. 

Daniel celebrated his 11th birthday on Friday.  Cannot believe my Thai boy is 11.  We had a pool party and the kids had a blast.  Thank you Grace for all your help!.

We got another batch of 50 chickens on Saturday...one died.  It looked sick on the day they arrived and died Sunday morning.

We picked up (finally) our new van today.  I was so excited that I didn't want to drive it home. Dh drove it home and then I left it in  the driveway until I needed to pick the kids up from school.  There is something to be said for driving an older vehicle....less stress.  But I will say that I am very thankful for our new van, as the older van was holding together only by prayer. It was a hard decision because dh didn't want to buy anything used and therefore New was the only way.  We also wanted to buy Canadian and do our part for the economy, so we purchased a Dodge Grand Caravan made in Ontario.

I am roasting two of our chickens today...the first ones from our bunch.  My children want rice (as usual), so we will have rice with grilled green beans and tomato cucumber salad (my dd favourite).

Decided last minute to make a Lazy Daisy Cake...eating it with my coffee as I type.

Well, that's about it for now...pictures to follow.