Natalie loves her Phua Ji's

Phua Ji is your dad's sister (or cousin) in Punjabi. While we were at a baby shower, Natalie showed her love for two of her Phua's. Enjoy!!!

perishky and the pool

We are so blessed to be loved by our church family. Mrs. Redekop is one special lady that has taken me in and taught me a few of the secrets to Mennonite cooking. And although she's already taught me how to make perishky (a wonderful apple turnover of sorts - although you can subsitute the apple for any fruit in season, as Mrs. Redekop does not purchase fruit for baking), she has invited me back year after year now to bake for a day. The baking starts around 10am and lasts until nearly 4pm. We stop for lunch, and then after the full day, she invites my husband and a few other couples over for dinner and cards. It becomes nearly a 12 hour affair, and I love it every time.

My girls are so welcome at Elizabeth's as well. They have free reigh over the family room, hanging outside, and even swimming in the pool. Chelsea has brought Steph out for two years now, and the girls not only help out with Natalie, they also get to enjoy the yard and the pool when Nat's not around. Nat and I did get a swim in after her long nap, a great way to end the afternoon.

Tim also joined us this year, and he had a mission that day, to develop a relationship with Nat. What a goal for a teenager, I am very proud. Well, did he ever do an amazing job. He hung out with Nat and had her sitting on his lap while playing cards.

I treasure my time with Mrs. Redekop. I wish to have only a portion of her strength at her age, and her strong dedication to her faith. Thankyou.

Manitoba Memories - Family

We got to spend a lot of time with family this summer while out for my grandparents 50th anniversary. Here is just a small glimpse of our time. When you don't see family often, you take lots of pictures, so if you think I OD'd on the pictures, I probably did.

The first day in Steinbach we had a BBQ at my Grandparents, mainly with my family. With my parents living out in Eden, we needed a common ground to hang. It was cold, but we had a good time. We got one picture of my parents 6 grandkids, and its not perfect, but it was as good as it got with the kids. From the top left there is Chelsea, Keagan, Macquealla, Hayden, Grace-lynn and Natalie.

One special thing that happened was the bond that took place between Nat and my niece Gracie. We got great photo's of them holding hands, sitting together (above).

And the kids always love seeing Chelsea. They have so much fun with their big cousin, and Chelsea is so great with the cousins too.

The next day we had an all family BBQ at my aunt's house. There are lots of cousins, aunts, uncles, and I didn't get half of them in a picture. It was a good evening. Again, cold, but the fire helped with the heat, and the mosquitoes. Definitely too many mosquitoes.

Here are just a few photo's from the 50th anniversary. There's a lot of people in our family, and we were still missing 3 (my aunt, uncle and cousin from Vernon couldn't make it). So, the photo's are (from top left): only kids, then add spouses, everyone (bottom left), and then only grandkids. My grandparents also got a good kiss in (they may be old, but they still love each other).

Then we spent a day swimming with the family. Natalie discovered the water slide, and LOVED it! She was happy with anyone who would take her. We got to see some crazy dives and belly flops by Dwayne, Marvin and Walter. I did jump off the diving board, but straight in, nothing crazy. The kids had a blast, the Steinbach pool is super cool, with an indoor deep pool, an indoor kids pool, an outdoor pool (the original Steinbach pool), and a cool waterpark outside.

So, that's a little bit about our trip, and a lot of my family. Luv you guys, and it was so great to see you all again (and meet Hayden!)!