today....

Well today started out pretty much like any other day. I got up about 7 and put on the tea. I sat and drank my tea as the sun came streaming over the mountain and flooded the livingroom with it's warm glow. I knew it was going to be a good day! By this time the house started stirring...well Randal did anyway! No kids though...they really weren't too interested in getting up..they would all sleep until 11 or noon if allowed. They're real sleepers! Even when they were small...nobody was up at the crack of dawn, like most children are. This suited me real fine when they were preschoolers!! :) Those were busy days I tell ya. Three kids within 35 months really kept me hopping to put it mildly. Anyway... I deviated there.
Yesterday Lindsay and Courtenay were out picking apples for the afternoon. They want to make some money to help pay for a youth function that they'd like to attend. After picking apples they went over to a friends for a sleep over...these are always late nights...so this morning not too long before we had to pick them up for church Lindsay realized that she wasn't feeling good enough to be teaching her Sunday School class, so asked me to fill in. This was about 45 minutes before church!! I didn't like the idea of no prep but she said.. oh mom, they're only 5 years old!?! So I figured I should be okay...Yeah it went fine...but they wanted me to make up a story to tell them .."cuz that's what Lindsay does".*grin* I had to tell them that I was a really bad story teller and that it would have to come out of a book today...well it all worked out just fine...I think I snowed every one of them! They had no idea that I didn't know what I was doing!! Actually I think they kinda liked it... I asked them what they usually did in their class and they were more than happy to tell me the order of things!
After church we went to the park with some friends and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the warm fall sun. It was so nice if the sun stayed out but that chill is in the air reminding us that winter is not far off! We had a bit of running around to do and then for the evening we went over to a friends house for a farewell party. We have two sets of friends moving away. One couple I've known for almost 15 yrs..Randal has known the husband since birth! They're moving way over to the other side of the continent and down into the States. They're heading to Burlington, Massachussetts. That's a LONG ways away... I don't imagine that we'll ever get over there to visit them. The airfare would be unbelievable. I'm really glad that they'll be coming back for Christmas. His company will pay for one flight up per year...So I guess it's not as sad as it could be...at least we know that they'll be coming back to visit!
The other couple has been coming to our church for just over a year. But they're the kind of people that you feel a quick attachment with. We will really miss them as well.......So it was a bit of an emotional evening.
Onto other things.......well...let's see...what else could I tell you about.....hmm....well....I'm going to have to show you this next thing...
I've started a 54" square quilt. I'm not a really big 'sewer', but I do enjoy it when I get down to it. My girlfriend, Lorraine, and I have started getting together every Monday to do this. What a great thing to do! I'm really enjoying it. I get to spend time with a friend and get something done at the same time. I think it reminds me of the days when I was little and Mom would have the ladies over for "missionary circle". The ladies all got together to make things to send to the missionaries. It was such a nice atmosphere when all the ladies were sitting around sewing and chatting. So yeah, that's my newest project.
I've also been spending a fair bit of time in Janelle's classroom. She's been having a bit of difficulty with school and this seems to really help. She has been having much more success with gettting her work done! I'm realizing that she CAN do it, it's just getting her to do it! Last friday I spent the whole day at school. I did a grade 4 math class then a grade 7 math class then a grade 7 social studies class... by lunch time I was exhausted!! I must say that I really did enjoy it though...I'm almost thinking that I'd like to be a teacher's assistant...the biggest thing that would steer me away from it would be the politics involved. Actually I haven't seriously considered it but after spending time just helping out in those classes, I found that I really enjoyed it!
Anyway....I'm awfully tired and am starting to just ramble on and on... I'm going to say Goodnight! You all take care..and I'm hoping to start posting at least a little bit more regularly! I'll try to get around to visit, hopefully tomorrow night.
:)thanks for stopping by..Heather

Cute Quote

Everybody wants to help Save The Earth, but nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes!

~Tom McMahon

~~Lindsay~~

Lindsay~My Oldest Daughter(15)

ANTS!!!!

OH my goodness... I hate Ants...especially in the kitchen...
It is definitely time to clean the freezer when the ants have found it and have a convoy running back and forth from your freezer to their colony nonstop 24 hrs a day! We watched the movie Antz the other night, so I had a pang or two of guilt and sorrow as I squashed ants under my flip flops...but they were short lived pangs! The kids (and the biggest one whose name starts with R) like to put sweet drinks in glasses in the door of the freezer(which is on the bottom of the fridge). You can imagine that when said person closes the door it is not always the smoothest closure and the resultant spill makes a lovely mess of the freezer and the seal around the door....
Well we all know what happens when the nasty little ants get a whiff of this lovely sweetness!!! Yes...a mad swarming dash!! I'm just hoping they don't find the sticky honey bucket on the top shelf of the pantry cupboard!!! Well hope you all have a great weekend....as I'm shlupping out the freezer...and the honey bucket!

Sunshine, Friends, and a Beautiful Lake

This past Saturday my brother picked up his kids and our two oldest and was gone by about 11:30 am. By 12:15 we were over at the river channel dropping off Amanda for her friend, Kate's, birthday party. The party was floating down the canal and then meeting at the beach. Kate's mom, Louise, floated down with them and her husband, Steve, and Randal and I went to the beach to get set up for a wiener roast for later. We had a great time....but it was a little chilly...I think it was only about 70-75 F. We've gotten used to about 90-100F!!! But as much as I don't want it to be... I think it's a signal that summer is nearing it's end...Oh well... I guess that just means that we'll have fun winter activities, such as skiing and playing in the snow to look forward to....BRRR... okay okay... I'm tryin'!!
(Steve and Louise are some new friends that we've recently met and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know!) The Mom's dropping off the girls. Paula, Leona, Heather (me) and Louise.



Is that a look of apprehension on Louise's face....?
Seth showing me that he can see through the bottom of his flip flop!
♫ Happy Birthday ♫ Kate!
Abby enjoying a grape pop...mmmmm
Amelia and Janelle....not sure what they were running from....

Steve, Randal and Louise
Opening presents


Amanda, in red, poking the fire

Janelle
Steve loading the sausages onto Amanda's stick
Louise
Janelle and Amanda

Is there an echo in here???

Well today I woke up and don't know what to do with myself! Oh don't get me wrong...there is lots to do....I really need to get busy and clean up the aftermath of maaany children!! I just feel at loose ends because there are only two children left here. Janelle and Amanda...who are also feeling at loose ends too....and lonely. They told me last night that they really miss their cousins....and "even my sisters, Mom!!" So I will tackle things around here and get the place clean and in order.
My brother and sister in law used to do "cousin's camp". ALL the cousins that were old enough - out of diapers and able to talk/walk-would be dropped off at their home on thursday night. We would all come back for them on Sunday afternoon. We'd have a BBQ and then head home.
So how many cousins were there? Well including their kids...I think there were about 15 kids for the first couple of years, then add my two younger and one more and there were 18!! They wouldn't just sit at home either! They rented a huge van and took them to someplace fun. I now have a bit of an understanding of what they went through. That sounds negative but I don't mean it that way at all.. I don't think Connie made the kids do any cleanup at all...I think her and Paul did all that. They must have been exhausted by the end of the weekend! But man do the kids ever have wonderful memories of those times with them! They did that every summer for about 7 summers in a row! WOW!
My time with the kids this summer has given me a bit of an appreciation of what they did every summer for all those years. I felt privileged to have them all though. It was really great to be trusted enough to be able to have the kids. I think they all had a great time...I know our kids did! It really makes me want to move closer to them. The closest ones live about 5 or 6 hours away...and the rest live about 8 hours from here.....Oh I almost forgot...My youngest brother and family just moved to a town about an hour from here..so that is going to be really nice! It will be nice to get to know their little boy, Silas. He's just about 18 months old-and so cute. I'm also anticipating spending time with his Daddy and Mommy too.
Well I'd better get the coffee pot on and get busy!
You all have a wonderful week! (c:

♫ ♫Happy Birthday to♫ Me...Happy ♫Birthday to Me.......♫

In amongst all the kids and company, I had a birthday. The kids and Nana made a dinner for me the night before and then the night of, we went out to dinner with some friends. I had a very nice birthday.
I had mentioned one time to my friend, Louise, that I really wanted a camera and that I had told Randal that for all my occasions for the next year, that a camera was all I wanted...Well Louise remembered this and for my birthday she gave me this cute little cow with the beginnings of a camera fund!! I felt kinda dumb that I'd said it to her, but it had been in innocence...just a conversation about how I'd like to get a camera. She's so thoughtful.


"OOOOOOHHH...I remember that conversation....."



The Cow containing the "camera fund".





Out for dinner with friends, Steve and Louise. We had a great dinner out at the Pasta Factory!! As Steve would say..."mmmm mm mmmm mmm mmmm"! :)) It was strange being away...I felt like I needed to get home because Mom and Grandma were home with 16 kids! But I did enjoy it.
One of the four or five cakes that the girls made for me. They had lots of fun baking and decorating them!
This is my Grandma that you all prayed for this spring. She has healed up amazingly! She looks really tired in this picture because she'd just spent the day in the house with 8 kids then the evening with 16!! It was so nice to have her here!! I didn't have great grandparents growing up, so our kids are really blessed to be able to enjoy having her around!

PS
I'm catching up on my posting, so there are two posts for today...scroll down.