Happy Birthday Wil!!!

To our favorite 4 year old in the whole world!!!

Have a happy day!!

We miss you (and your whole family)!

Ask your Daddy if you can come up to NB next summer!

Winter Woes at the Farm

The kitchen sink

In the winter we leave a trickle of water running to keep the pipes open. The reason that we do not turn off the water is because we can't. We have a boiling spring way up the hill in the woods. Unfortunately things have not been moving this year, as we had hoped. We have not been out to check things since the middle of November. The toilet split, but I will spare you that scene.

Bathroom sink

If you are wondering what those funny cups are over the hot water tap, we don't have hot water. People who visit naturally think we do and turn it on. This makes problems in the cellar. And yes, that is "cellar" not basement.

Bathroom rug

Oh, we've had our winter woes in the past! There was the time when we heard the water running as we entered the house only to find a split pipe and water spraying all over the bathroom.

Then there was the time when everything appeared to be okay until we fired up the kitchen wood stove. I was mopping up water and skating on it at the same time as it froze. The jacket in the stove burst because the water, which circulated through the stove to warm, had frozen. So Paul had to cut the pipes in the cellar, and that was the last of the nice warm water when the stove was going.

Another cellar story is when Paul was working with some jack posts because of sagging floors. I realized that I was getting cold but couldn't get the door open to get wood for the fire because of the jacking up Paul was doing. So he had to undo all that he had done. Seems to me he was standing in water in the cellar too.

And there was the winter that we spent time actually living there...until some kind friends offered their real house to us for the remainder of the winter. We hesitated...not at all before we said, "YES" & "thank you very much"!

Lately, when Paul asks if I would like to stay overnight at the farm (this is January, you know), I say "no thanks". I do love the place, but I also have my limits!

The Farm

This is what you have been waiting for: pictures of

The Farm!!!

As you can see, it was a beautiful day

to go to the farm today.

We had not been there to check on things since the middle of November.

I posted lots of photos because there were

so many beautiful ones!!!

The house
built in the 1920's
That is the bathroom on the right. Originally there was "a path."

The Pond House (it overlooks the pond, make sense?)

The 1948 Massey Harris tractor

Old chicken house in the background,
remains of the barn in the foreground

Log fence

The swing, a popular spot in the summer

The blacksmith shop

The living room window from inside
-actually, it is just as cold inside-
as out
But wait till you see the next post!!!

What I Learned

It seems to me that a day is worthwhile if you have learned something new. Last week I came upon this little gem of info: "Don't floss your teeth right after putting on hand lotion."

"Loaded" Down

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Psalm 68:19

Today is a beautiful, sunny day and I feel really blessed. Then I realized that it is not the sun, the happenings of the day or even the love shown by or to others that should "pick me up". It is the blessings of God, which are new every morning, that fill me with joy.

This morning we were reading in Spurgeon's Morning and Evening (Jan 27 morning) about those benefits. Here are a few he mentioned: "There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon (save from our sin), of grace to regenerate (give us new life), of grace to sanctify (set us apart from sin to serve God), of grace to preserve (save us for all eternity), and of grace to perfect (or mature)." (The parentheses are mine.)

Here's more from The Treasury of David:

"God's benefits are not few nor light, they are loads; neither are they intermittent, but they come "daily;" nor are they confined to one or two favourites, for all Israel can say, "he loadeth us with benefits." Delitzsch reads it, "He daily bears our burden;" and Alexander, "Whoever lays a load upon us, the Mighty God is our salvation." If he himself burdens us with sorrow, he gives strength sufficient to sustain it; and if others endeavor to oppress us, there is no cause for fear, for the Lord will come to the rescue of his people. Happy nation, to be subdued by a King whose yoke is easy, and who secures his people from all fear of foreign burdens which their foes might try to force upon them. "

That last part sounds like the comfort we need in today's world!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR DAVE!!!

Dave, the husband

Dave & Skye

The Dad

Would you believe we have not one picture of Dave and the boys?!! Here are Wes and Wil with their bags of seeds from trees in the yard. They are round prickly things. We have no idea what the tree is. Any ideas?

The Musician

He makes beautiful music!

The Ketchup Man

Give him ketchup and a diet coke and he's "as happy as a clam."

(I guess you have to be from the Maritimes to understand that!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO THE BEST SON - IN - LAW

in the world!!!

We wanted to have a big, ole picture of you for your special day. However we cannot find the photos! They are there but we can't get to them right now, so come back later. We tell everyone what a great guy you are: husband, father, musician & general all around great whatnot.

Love U, Dad and Mom

P.S. We do thank God for you!

Andy, the Photographer

Here they are! Wesley Taylor, Wil Tyler and Skye Alexis as photographed by Andy. We think they are pretty cute and that he does a super job!

Uncle Andy

This is the first time the boys have gotten to know Uncle Andy who came all the way from British Columbia. Here they are looking at the See's Chocolates which come from California where Andy lived for 5 years. They are DELICIOUS!! We happened upon them at a mall somewhere between here and there on our trip down.

Uncle Andy wearing the scarf that Wes and Wil helped make for him.

The original four

We are all glad Andy came. No pic with Skye?! She was having trouble warming up to Uncle Andy. It took some time before she warmed up to us. Do you have a photo, Sara?

Our Trip South continued

JOURNEY'S END
Dave & Sara's house

Finally...after traveling for three full days, we reached the home of our daughter, Sara, son-in-law, Dave, and the three cuties: Wes, Wil and Skye. We ran into horrible traffic. Did I say that already? We love their lovely, new home, which the Lord provided for them. We enjoyed the southern weather even as they were enjoying mild weather in the Maritimes.

Photos from top: The house, Sara & Skye, Wil, Wes and Dave

After the Storm

This is the view today out our living room window.
That is Jones Lake on a nice, sunny winter day.

It turned out to be quite a nasty day yesterday. It snowed and then turned to rain about the time I had a dentist appointment. My chauffeur is not afraid to drive in anything and I was glad to have him take me.

Storm Watch

Today a BIG storm is coming, or so they say. Schools in our area are closed, so we know there are some happy, and not so happy, people around. Reminds me of when I was teaching school years ago in Minnesota. The purest pleasure was lying in bed on a "snow day" listening to school closings. Today I saw the districts which were closed listed across the bottom of the screen as I watched the news. Back in Minnesota, in those days anyway, every little town in the whole state had its own school district. Therefore, every little town was named, just prolonging the pleasure. St. Peter, Mankato, Lake Crystal, Madelia, Owatonna, Blooming Prairie, Dodge Center, Worthington, Adrian etc., etc. When our kids were in our church's Christian school, closing was announced on our radio station, WCTS, and we could even look out at the parking lot and see that the buses were not running. However I still liked to lie in bed with the kids and listen to the closings all over the state.

More Unknown Facts

Both Gini, Sara's mother-in-law, and I are Mary Englebreit fans, we are both married to pastors, we each have a daughter named Sara(h) and we both like Dave! We also share three of the cutest and greatest grandchildren in the world. You notice I said "of the" which applies to Gini, because she has 5 others. We probably have more in common, but I don't think we have seen each other since Christmas 2001, so who's to know.

ABCs About Me

I was tagged by Sara and thought I should be a good sport and enter into this game. I guess I enjoy reading about someone else, so here goes:

A-available or single? No,very happily married for 41 years!
B-best friend? Next to the Lord Jesus Christ, and life is not worth living without Him, my wonderful husband, Paul. Forty-one years, we must be happy! As for the Lord, "the longer I know Him, the sweeter He grows."
C-cake or pie? Pie (apple, banana cream, chocolate, angel, etc., etc) and I DO love German Chocolate Cake!
D-drink of choice? Hot tea
E-essential item I use everyday? My Bible
F-favorite color? Hmmm...green in the kitchen to go with my antique canisters, blue or red for wearing and lots of red for decorating, mostly dull red.
G-gummy bears or gummy worms? Bears
H-hometown- Born in Chicago, Illinois. Lived 21 years in Minnesota and 24 1/2 in New Brunswick, Canada.
H - indulgence? I love to read and hook rugs. Also I would like to indulge myself with grandkids (or indulge them) if we only lived closer.
J-January or February? Hey, any time in the winter is good for a new grandbaby to be born. It is fun to get away from winter for awhile. But I do enjoy a good snow storm with a good book and a fire in the fireplace.
K-kids and names? Not kids anymore, but Andy and Sara.
L-life is incomplete without? A real and daily relationship with Jesus Christ.
M-marriage date? December 21, 1965!!!
N-number of siblings? One older brother, Gerry; two sisters, Cheryl and Priscilla
O-oranges or apples? Apples - my most favorite are Harrelsons which we have to travel to the mid-west to get! Minnesota Regents are great too.
P-phobias or fears? Claustrophobia, but recently when I had a rubber dam in my mouth for a root canal, the dentist gave me acupuncture in my ears which made all the difference in the world.
Q-favorite quote? "The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing." Lee Iococa said that, I heard it recently and like it. How about "Fear is the offspring of forgetfulness of God." (Vine) Or "Depression cannot live in a thankful heart." "Jesus, others and you; What a wonderful way to spell JOY."
R-reasons to smile? Grandkids!
S-season? Fall & also gardening season! Spring when things start growing and also the first snowfall. Actually I am glad we live with 4 seasons here.
T-(I'm not tagging anyone) Something with T is: tough to put down a book!
U-unknown fact about me? My favorite hymn is the same as Sara's mother-in-law's: Great Is Thy Faithfulness.
V-vegetable you don't like? Maraschino cherries! Not a veggie? But I can't think of one I don't like right now. I COULD be a vegetarian.
W-worst habit? Not accomplishing what I need to do.
Y-your favorite food? Well, my comfort food is rye krisp, also Montreal bagels.
Z-zodiac? Don't believe in it. My life is governed by God's will for me and how I respond to what He gives me.

The Trip South

The Picture ProvinceHere are some pictures of the beautiful New Brunswick coast.

This is how it looked on Dec. 25 -
sunny with dry roads. It was beautiful traveling weather but we did not make very good time because of the AWFUL traffic on the 26th and 27th! It took us 3 WHOLE DAYS to get there. Of course we were anxious to be there!

I HAVE CONQUERED IT!!!

There are dishes in the sink, the floor is dirty as is my hair, but here you see the results of my labors - PHOTOS! And notice the cropping, Queen of Crop! Are you proud of me, or what?! I am not totally inept when it comes to computer, almost, but not totally!!

Wil & Wes with a Mincy welcome
Do you notice the socks on Wil's hands? We don't remember why, they were probably work gloves!
(their mommy, Sara, painted the sign)
The whole bunch

Now that I have conquered the photo, I have lots more to post. Right now I better clean up the kitchen before I lose my job here.

Ignoring the Obvious

What a blessing and privilege it is to meet with the people of our church weekly to hear the Word of God taught and preached! So many, even in our city, do not hear the TRUTH! We hear what GOD SAYS, not men.
JONES LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH, MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
You WILL hear it there!

Beware: Construction Zone

I know you have not seen any activity here. It is because of some PROBLEMS I am having. I hope to get my adviser active TODAY to get fixed up. THEN I hope to learn how to post photos and we will be ready to go. Keep watching!

Thought for 2007

"Giving control of our lives to God doesn't mean we let go of our responsibilities. It simply means we leave the worry and the results to God."

Heading Home

It had to happen! We had to start home, whether we wanted to or not! We left Andy, Sara, Dave, Wes, Wil and Skye Sunday afternoon and headed for the great white north land. (Actually it is green up there too.) We have traveled in quite a bit of rain, but we thank the Lord for safety and making good time. Except for a 45 minute crawl, because of an accident, we zipped right along. It will be good to get home even though we had a WONDERFUL time and hated to leave.

The REAL First Post

I admit that I do have a beautiful, talented and great daughter. Everything she said about HERSELF is true. However she is NOT always going to take over blogging FOR ME. She did get me set up AND wrote the phony "first post". Now it is MY TURN. My purpose for having a blog is to journal and have a place to let the whole world see our grandchildren. If you are looking at my blog, you want to see them. Right?
We are visiting Sara and Dave in their very nice, new home. We have had a good time with Wes, Wil and Skye (oh yes, Sara and Dave too!) and will hate to leave. Andy arrived yesterday and is the star of the show right now with Wes and Wil. We will no doubt show more photos before this visit is over on Sunday. Boo Hoo!

Our Adorable Grandchildren

Little Skye

Uncle Andy with Wes & Wil

The First Post

This is my first blog post. I am having a blast! My beautiful, and talented daughter is giving me lots of helpful hints. She is the GREATEST daughter!!!!!!! I love her to death!!!!!!!! Oh by the way I did not write this first post by myself....I had the tiniest little bit of help!!!!