i'm back!

it's been sooo busy around here that i haven't had the chance to sit behind this computer for an update! i'm up @ 7am this sat morning, just to do this post.....dedication ~hmmmm.no.
crazy. yes.

this past weekend my sister & i flew by the seat of our pants.
literally.
we flew out to vancouver this past thursday, and stayed only till monday.

i know what your thinking....all the way to vancouver for only 4 days?!?
well, you see, this was all we could swing!
we'd been planning this trip for a while....told NO ONE!!
the reason being, our dear aunt & uncle who live in vancouver, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this summer...aug 20 to be exact.
my father's brother~peter, married my mother's sister~jeanette....double family!

along with our 3 cousins~tim, lynn & michelle(& their families) we planned on surprising peter & jeanette with a first time visit to vancouver.
these people were (& still are!!) a huge support for deb & me when my mother passed away 3 yrs ago, that we wanted to return the love shown, by a surprise visit & gift for their anniversary.

and surprise them we did!!
michelle & bro tim picked deb & me up from our hotel fri morning & had a coffee @ kitsilano beach....vancouver coast~just beautiful!!


deb,tim,michelle & me

it was GOR~GEE~US weather ;)
michelle & tim had made lunch reservations for their parents, deb & me @ a restaurant right there on the beach.
however, peter & jeanette thought they were meeting tim & michelle for lunch, but deb & i would be there instead!!



not knowing what to get them for their 50th, my sister had a brilliant idea.
"let's give them the blanket that mom had started making years ago".(by years i mean, she started crocheting a bedspread for deb's wedding...20 years ago.mom sat for hours creating little circles that would need to be sewn together later to complete the spread).
after mom died, deb took them home with her, not knowing what she would end up doing with them. she asked a lady in her church to attach these pieces together & finish the edge with the remaining soft, light weight cotton that my mom originally used.
it turned out beautifully .

my aunt immediately recognized it,& deb told them the story of how & why it came to be finished...for them!
we all enjoyed a fab lunch....fresh sea food~thanks dad!(he picked up the bill with some cash he gave us to spend;) )

our dessert that we all shared after an amazing lunch!


uncle peter was rubbing his cheeks b/c they hurt from smiling so much!



b/c of the big camera always pointing @ something, i was called the 'paparazzi' for the weekend!


in the span of 3 days we:
~shopped 'gas town'...the oldest part of vancouver city with it's original gas street lights & cobble stone streets
~went to the beach & did some hiking, beach combing,crab catching & seal watching
~had a picnic with the whole family
~saw the sights of vancouver city
~enjoyed amazing family dinners with the cousins
~laughed a LOT!!
~cried some too
~relished the families, their gorgeous children, their amazing love shown & hospitality!!
~made some amazing memories that will last forever!
~were awed by the beautiful handiwork of God in the mountains & views!

the view from lynn & marc's front window & patio


the old steam clock in gastown


seals on the rocks just off the beach


crab catching


the once bright olympic torch


we surprised each of the families with a bag full of dutch store goodies....huge hit!


Tim & Rita & kids:emma, darren & adrian


lynn & marc & kids: evan & simone


michelle & tim & son, nathan


michelle,deb,tim,me & lynn


our 3 cousins who lead busy lives as well,helped in planning this weekend with us/for us.....with out all their work, this weekend would not have happened~thanks you guys ;)!


oh, by the way..... .tim can do the lips!!!

peonies!!

i want to let you all know that peonies are my all time favourite flower!!
in my garden i have a couple of peony plants.....in full boom:)
this makes me happy.

i love how they look....so full, yet delicate.
i love how they smell....soooo fragrant!!


these flowers just can't bloom on their own......they need help!
God divinely designed it so that the ant,
yes, the ant is required to help this beauty bloom!

see these little creatures on the bud in this pic...





as you might already know....the ants eat the sticky sap that holds these
ball~shaped buds so tightly together.
with out the ant, the buds cannot open!
how amazing is this!
so... whether you like ants or not, God in His divine wisdom created these 2~creature & plant~ to work beautifully together!!

SWEET 16

well....the day has come that my sweet girl has turned 16.
may 17.
the big day!

"can you pick me up from school so i can get my license today?"


i am not ready for this!
don't get me wrong.... i love this age!
she's becoming so independent & confident & fun to hang out with(had a grand time in ottawa with the gr. 10 class~right eryn!?!)
i'm glad that my kid still wants her mom to go with her on her big class trip!!(post to come later!)

it's just that....life is going too fast for me!
she's already 16!
it seems we just had her...not that long ago!
if life was a movie.....i want to push 'pause' right now!!!
however, it's not, and i am thankful that God's in control of our lives.
i know that whatever He has planned out for eryn will be good for all of us.




her dad bought her a designer 'hand~bank'.....a giorgio armoney!
since she has a job now and is saving for a car, a bank was needed!


normally on the kid's birthdays, i cook their favourite meal, or whatever they want for supper.
it was a long day on monday the 17th so we decided to take the family out.
eryn had a craving for shrimp, so we headed for the mandarin...YU~MEE!





eryn was in a pretty daring mood!!
she went for the clams, muscles & squid!!


....all the power to ya ;)!!


we've seen eryn develop into a beautiful young lady who....
~loves the Lord
~loves her family(we're a lovable bunch!!)
~is an avid reader
~loves learning
~has a tender heart
~is a responsible kid
~is beautiful inside & out!
~a great big sis to her younger sibs!
~is cautious when it comes to new things she must face
~is mindful of walking in the way that God calls her to walk...in this day & age of peer pressure, it's a tough thing to do!

we love you loads kido!!
keep being who you are...change for no one but the Lord!

hair...be gone with you!!!

i need to do the kids hair cuts again....some of them are complaining about how long their hair is.
"it's getting too long for the style it is, mom"!
"i just want you to thin it out a bit, cause i'm growing it"
well, you get the picture....with 5 kids, one has a full time job just cutting hair~you get them all done and then you turn around and they all need it cut again ~oh, and you must do the hubby as well while you're at it!!
so here's just one....we had to document this one, it was BIG!!

lots of hair...right?
guess which girl all this came from......
oh, wait...it's NOT from my daughter(s)!!
it's from.....
LEVI!!!
i kid you NOT!!

i was sooo sick of his long hair...he wanted to grow it long, but this was long enough.
my handy~dandy clippers were put to good use let me tell you!


honestly...it was getting so long, that on 'grandparents day' @ school a couple of weeks ago, my dad came into levi's class and said " oh, levi, i didn't recognize you....i was looking for a boy!!"
ya, pretty bad, i know.
but now that the warm weather is here, this boy's getting buzzed!!






here's the boy i once knew....he's back~and i'm glad!!

otten bowling

our tradition every 'spring~break' is to go bowling with the whole otten gang.
it's getting harder now that many of the older kids work, and finding a time that suits everyone....there are 43 people to include!!
since we couldn't make it in the spring~break, we booked it for a month later...found a saturday afternoon in the end of april.

we made it work....well, a few were MIA.
we had a blast...we basically took up 10 lanes at this tiny little bowling ally
~oh ya, they only had ten lanes in this place!!


as you can see...i'm not doing so great
nick, on the other hand just got a strike;)!


veronica & justin


way to go justin...strike!!!



shanyn, levi & justine


roni,rachel,melanie,& calvin....all in their aero t's


jordyn


dani & tawnya...synchronized bowling!


best buds...jordyn & deanna


cass & eryn


capturing all the 'kodak' moments....chris


you bowl better than you mini putt chris....yes, you 'smoked' us all!!


while the little kids were finishing up their game, these guys decided to skip while waiting!
the big kids were having a grand ol' time with this game!!




then....back to oma & opa's for pizza & kfc

good luck finding your shoes @ the end of the night!!


aunt christine showing carrie~anne the pictures

even though it gets harder and harder every year to plan this day, it's still a huge 'high~light' in this family, so we try to make it work as best as possible.
thanks oma & opa for bowling and supper ;)!!

happy birthday sis!!

i just wanted to give a shout out to my dear sister, who ~i know it's late deb~just celebrated another birthday!



my sister is a mere 2 yrs older than me and i have always looked up to her.
my sis....
~is the sweetest person i know
~is gorgeous
~is a great mom
~was always my 'protector'
~made friends for me b/c i was soooo shy as a kid!!
~loves me unconditionally!
~is one who knows all my secrets
~is always 'on my side'
~has the same decorating sense as me..it's different in a way yet we always seem to pull off the same ideas!
~is the 'salt' while i'm the 'pepper'...she adds the flavour while i add the 'kick'!!
(i know that last one was cheesy...but it's true!!)
~gets mistaken for actress courney cox
~a gift from God

thanks deb for always being there for me, showing how courageous you are through the tough stuff in life, being my support through the pain we've gone through, being that great example in showing love, and above all i thank God for placing us together in our family~He knew i needed you as my big sis!
love ya;)