Christmas blessings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dear family & friends,                         

Christmas greetings! From our family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas with God’s richest blessings for a happy & healthy New Year!

Here’s just a brief update for a glimpse into the busy life at the Ottens.

We’ve enjoyed a remarkably mild November, and it feels odd to be writing this letter when it’s 14 degrees outside. The Christmas lights are up but it just seems too mild for the holiday feeling yet. Waiting on the snow to fly for that ‘christmas~in~the~air’ feeling!!

Eryn is finishing up her first semester of her fourth year of university. She keeps busy with her studies as well as observation sessions in her program. She is continuing on course with linguistics, with the possibility of changing from speech therapist to a communications disorder assistant…less schooling~you know ;).  Danielle is completely done school and has landed herself a full time job in her field. She graduated this fall, with honors I might add, from the OTA/PTA program at Niagara College. She is on staff at a long term care facility in St. Catharines and loves it!  Veronica is finishing up her senior year of high school with uncertainty of her post-secondary schooling. We are still trying to figure that one out. Levi is doing well in his junior year and has started driving…just to add to my grayJ. Jordyn will graduate gr. 8 in June, with eager anticipation of high school! So, 2016 has us celebrating two graduations, and a wedding. Yep, I said WEDDING!! Kevin proposed to Eryn mid-august and she said “YES”! a July wedding is planned, and excitement is building in this home. Her sisters will stand up with her with Danielle being her maid of honour.

Wayne continues to be very busy at Turkstra lumber. So busy in fact, that the boss is taking the managers, & head office staff, with their spouses down south again in February. I also continue to be busy with my cleaning jobs…it definitely helps pay for the private tuition. Every year for the past 10 yrs or so, I’ve been writing about our slow, ongoing renovations. So the construction part of it is completely done. We’ve put in a fabulously large laundry/mud room. We’ve added a great office space where kids do homework and it’s furnished to serve as a spare room for anyone wishing to spend the night. As I write this now I am waiting for the kitchen cabinets & appliances to be installed. The old kitchen has been removed completely (and sold on kijiji~woot!!). Once the old kitchen was out Wayne had to move a window, lay the flooring, rewire some of the electrical, reroute some plumbing and duct work…so, ya, not much for one guy to tackle by himself. I know he’ll be more thankful than me when it’s done. I totally appreciate his handy skills and his attention to detail...the man does quality work, I must say! Keeping my fingers crossed the new kitchen (cabinets & appliances) will be in by Christmas. The counter tops on the other hand…probably not. I’m ok with that though.

I hope to post some pictures on the family blog, to keep you all up to speed. I have taken up a new little hobby this year…refinishing furniture. I have done a bunch of road side freebies & thrift sore finds, as well as several pieces in our home. I. love. It.  During this busy holiday season, I have slowed down a bit…I have two chairs that I’m currently working on, that have been put on hold for when time allows. Since friends know I do this for fun, I have received all sorts of offers of old pieces that have seen better days and end up in my garage for a makeover. It’s so much fun transforming a tired old piece and breathing, I mean 'painting' new life into it!

We still have our two dogs…boxer & miniature pinscher. The old girl is slowing down a bit, but still loves playing outside with the kids. The little guy is only three and still acts like a puppy~full of energy! Winters see the girls working in the greenhouses stocking them  with the bounty of beauties for the summer gardens. Levi hopes to find employment with his father, but for now volunteers at the local thrift store on a regular basis.

We continue to be busy with school & church related functions. We have been richly blessed as a family once again this year. God is good…all the time.

It is our hope & prayer that you & your family may be richly blessed this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

Wayne, Brenda, Eryn & Kevin, Danielle & Ron, Veronica, Levi and Jordyn Otten

*today we also celebrate wayne's birthday :)....halfway to 90 he is!

summer recap...

this is a long one friends, so grab a coffee or a glass of wine & settle in for our summer recap :)

i can't believe it's the beginning of September already!
{i realized the post date says Aug 31 but by the time i finished this incredibly loooonngg post it was Sept 2 already~lol}
sigh.
wasn't it just yesterday that the kids were let out of school for summer break??
i'm think'n just a feeeeew more weeks of vaca would be grand....hmmmmm
but then again that would take us right into Thanksgiving & then Christmas would be right around the corner~gulp.
i guess it's better this way.

our summer started out on a high note~ a positive one.
our second daughter {who had just finished her placement from NC at the Joe Brant hospital in Burlington} received a job offer in an email.
Dani did not know of the position available, yet, this person(who sent the email) had heard of her work ethic from her last preceptor at the hospital and was told to contact her.
Dani went in for the interview and within half an hr was notified saying she got the job!!
woooottt!!!!
soooo proud of my girl!
since i had gone with her & dropped her off for the interview,we headed to Tim's to celebrate...

the next week we headed up north  for the 'long weekend' :)
Canada Day fell on a Wednesday, so we decided to head up Tues night and make a 'weekend' of it~heehee. {we came home the following Monday night ;) }
always a great time as a family...

did lots of playing on the water...

annnnd they're off....

 the boys were quick slalom learners...

this is as far as this girl got...
skis are just a little tooooo big for her :(

did some playing on the field too...
soccer....

baseball....

on Sunday night we head into Buckhorn to where my dad & Sylvia were cottaging.
the three youngest stayed

up north with them while we head back home on Monday

 these 4 go on a kayaking/paddle boarding adventure...

after dinner we walk over to the locks~good spot for a family pic on the lock walkway

sooo, Sylvia does things a little differently than the rest of us...

'nuf said.

love my crazy family :)

under the bridge in Buckhorn:

'Learn from yesterday    Live for today    Hope for tomorrow     Enjoy always'

since my dad & Sylvia were not going home from the cottage but heading to another cottage further north for a week, Wayne & i trek back to Buckhorn on Friday night to pick up the kiddos.
they treated us to a yummy chinese dinner at the Cody Inn...sooooo good!

the rest of July was hot.

great for a water fight.

what started out as a couple of pails of water balloons ended up being a full blown, get~out~the~big~guns, water fight.

 soaked...

 out for birthday celebrations :)

saw some different critters in the yard...
eastern milk snake~gulp
creeeeppppy!!!

 one morning i saw some movement across the lawn...
the stray cat in the background saw it too & steered clear of it!

this big guy was on a mission....straight for the pond.

this summer i've been meaning to finish up the projects i've started~i know right, i say this all the time!
aaaannnnd, i have picked up a couple of roadside freebies that i have big plans for.
you know, give them a new lease on life!
this is what i'm working on currently:
this little bed side table was in need of a little TLC and some new hardware when i rescued it from the end of someone's driveway.

this has been in my basement for 23 yrs.

my hubs made it for me when we were dating~my 'hope' chest.

he told me to get rid of it since it was taking up valuable floor space.

ok, i thought, but i'll have to give it a slight make over.

i also scored a couple of sweet deals at the Habitat for Humanity restore

this was the fabric on the seats~it had been painted!

{i'll post the after pics later :)}
then i saw these sweet pieces of slate, which apparently came off one of the parliament buildings at Queen's Park

once i got these cleaned up, i sealed them with a natural stone sealer that i had on hand
i wired one up so it could hang, put rubber bumpers on the back at the bottom so it wouldn't rub or damage the wall.

Aug~ we are headed back to Elim for a week, this time to meet my sister and my dad & Sylvia for a week.
it was a full week.
by 'full' i mean it was loaded with good times!
times of peace, time of reflection, time with God, times of laughter & tears, times of soul searching & spirit leading, time of mind and body, time on the water and on the courts, and always, time with family :)

this week's {Aug 8~15} speaker was Brett Ullman.

he.
was.
amazing.

so refreshing to hear his talks. it's what we and our youth need to hear in this day & age.
he was so good that we basically went to all the speeches~morning & nights
he spoke on 'media, faith and culture', mental health, sex, dating, porn, a lot of the topics that the church today isn't equipped to talk openly about with our youth. maybe 'equipped' isn't the right word, but this just isn't something we do.
he will come to your church and speak to your youth group, mens group etc. it's what he does.
in short, you need to check out his blog{just click on his name above}or 'Like' his Facebook Page, or follow him on twitter & instagram
i know God is working through this man for the glory of His Kingdom.
in church...

pontoon life....

selfie stick!!!!

kayaking...

this guys pulls the skiers, boarders, tubers...

{btw...our kids do water sports only a handful of times in a summer, so i must admit, they do pretty good for not having much opportunity of honing their skills.

but i will say that they are incredibly blessed to have these times to ski & board, many kids don't have the opportunity at all.}

there, just had to say that.

my sis & my kid had fun zipping back & forth double skiing...
check that off 'the bucket list' deb!

this guy still has great form & style :) {i may be biased}
he hasn't skied in over 5 yrs.
i like watching him...he can still cut like a pro

tubing fun...

these two were just having waaay too much fun!!

we had a lot of fun on Josh's sea~doo

{Michael takes advantage of the wake from the boat & josh}

had fun rescuing an abandoned sail boat.

she was FREE

they eventually put her ashore & tied her up so she wouldn't float away.

the girls always take an afternoon & head into Bobcaygeon to shop Bigley's shoes

then to a funky little cafe for coffee & homemade tarts~mmmmmm!

 haha....shoulda brought the selfie stick!

syl always has the best snacks

snackery is good for free wi~fi...and their poutine of course :)

just out of morning session at the church &  Kevin proclaims it's a glorious day wants to get out & enjoy the day

bad phone pic i know

played volleyball

 learned a new game called gaga ball~who comes up with these names anyway?!?

campfires with s'mores & pie irons are great..

 

mid~week laser tag

so.

much.

fun.

then out for dinner at St.Louis wings!

mmmmm...Wednesday is $5 burger day~yay!!

group shot....btw~classic Kevin & Jordyn...always

then, Thurs night, this happened...

EEEEEEKK!
they're getting married.
She said "YES"!!

beauty up north...

undoubtedly, a blessed time together with family.

the very next day after our week north, Jordyn & Levi had their season end soccer tourney:
they did great & came in third~woot!
good job guys

that was our summer.
now we are planning a wedding....stress levels a bit high right now!

last week i got to spend the day with my childhood bestie. well, she's still my bestie we are 'kindred spirits' if you will & just don't get to see each other nearly enough.
i headed her way with my two youngest & met her at the park where her sister was camping for the week with her boys.
let me tell you, it was sooooo good to spend time with these beautiful women. they are so kind & down to earth and have such giving, tender hearts that they do a soul good just to fellowship together with them. one is just made to feel right at home. the kids also had a great time re~connecting with their kids. so much so, that by the time it was 6pm and i needed to head home, jordyn was like "no! we just got here"! i don't like living so far away from my dear friend and her beautiful family, but i am so blessed to call her 'friend'.

this last week before school starts has Jordyn camping with friends, Eryn, Dani & Roni having a girls night out & day out with Sylvia & cousins.

Wayne is bringing our new kitchen cabinets home tonight~woot!
we have a little more work to do before they are installed though such as finish the brick wall, lay the flooring and put in the window.
oh, and paint & take out the old kitchen.
so, not much. ahem.

till next time, my friends.
blessings for your Fall!