the big 4-0

july 24, 1970 in the wee hours of the morning(i'm not really sure...just guessing!)an 8lb 4oz baby girl was born to a young girl not ready to be a MOM.
this young girl lovingly named her baby ~veronica may.

11 days later this small baby was placed~ providentially,with the young schouls family, consisting of dad carl, mom margaret & big sis of 2 yrs, debbi.
margaret & carl named their new daughter, brenda.

yes, people....i will finally admit it~ i'm 40.
i'm 40!!
wow, saying it out loud makes it so much more REAL!
i know, i know...it is real regardless.....but now i have to 'own it'.

with my mom & my cute sis(i'm the chubby baby ;) )


18 mths....check out the 'uni~brow'!!!


no more 'uni~brow' ;)!!


then....


now....


God has richly blessed me in these 40 yrs.

~i was brought up in a loving christian home.
~i attended christian elementary & secondary schools
~God in His mercy gave me 'normal' teenage years
~i married my high school sweet heart,wayne.... who treats me like a queen & loves me unconditionally~ flaws & all ;)...luv ya, babe!
my handsome hubby

~i have been blessed with 5....count 'em, 5 beautiful children!!
eryn...


danielle...


veronica...


levi...


jordyn...


the family...


for some reason....(i don't know!), i was stressing about the number 40.
to me, i guess, it was just sounding older.
don't get me wrong.....i am totally thankful for these 40 years God has given me!
so there's no more denying it...no more lying about my age....i have to claim it & own it & be thankful for it!!

we had a small get together with friends & fam on the weekend...
cake~of course
coffee
lemonade
snacky/fun food
shrimp
fruit
marshmallows for roasting~yum
& great wine!!


kids played soccer


q~t patooties eryn, nicole & niece..cass






some gifts were...
beautiful flowers from the hubby


cross pendant from christine...love it!!


hand painted wine 'diva' wine glass from maria sommer...




we had a great weekend & fab get~together with family & friends...thanks everyone for sharing my birthday with me!!
i am blessed beyond measure.

fri night @ the falls

friday night's @ our house are pretty casual....we like to just hang out, watch a movie together, play games~you get the idea...FAMILY night ;)
so, this past fri night we decided to head to the falls, walk down to the falls & enjoy the summer night.
we thought we'd take the dog along, so she could get some exercise, & just so she's not alone @ home again.

after a quick stop @ the local timmy's & beverage of choice in hand, we hike down to the falls




the gardens in the falls are just gorgeous!
clematis in full bloom....beautiful


we ran into 2 other couples from our church who so nicely snapped our family pic amongst the crowds overlooking the falls


skylon tower & coloured spot lights that light up the falls



by 9:45 pm we head over to the sprawling lawns to sit & watch the fireworks display~which are every fri & sun nights during the summer
the show starts @ 10 & lasts b/w 5-10 min....not long, but still nice!

we're about to place our blankets on the ground when we hear "hi otten's!"
who else had the same idea as us was (brother & s.i.l) alfred & christine & family....with them are christine's sister char & brother will, and their families!

we get settled for the show, not forgetting that we had our dog with us who has never seen/heard fireworks before....we could be in for a treat!!
and were we ever!!
our poor pooch went ballistic!!
it took 3 of us to hold her down....she got mighty strong!
wayne actually carried her away....yes, i said carried.
he told me that she couldn't bolt b/c she didn't feel ground under her.
smart thinking;)
so, needless to say, that was mika's 1st & hopefully last time for fireworks!

the last one for the night

OOOPS!

sorry people.....i'm trying to change the look & i'm having a hard time as you can well see :(
hope to get this fixed soon!!

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!!