A Special Bond

Alex adores Raina, and Raina adores Alex.  I took these pictures while on vacation and although they are not the best in quality, I love them.  I love the expressions on both of their faces.  To me these pictures speak volumes.

  Raina decided Alex needed some lotion on his face, and Alex, being the guy he is, humored her.  Ahhh....just makes my heart melt!

Kathy

As you know I have a special relationship with my sister Kathy.   She lives in VA and has a passion for orphans.  She gets me...and that is a rare thing. 
Kathy and Mark are foster parents and are in the process of adopting Baby Bee, who is 11 months old.  This past week they agreed to provide respite care for 10 days, for a 15 month old.  It is a short time, but both babies are teething.  To top it off,  Kathy home schools her oldest 2 kids and her hubby works full time and is studying for his doctorate.  At times she feels like a single parent...(and does an amazing job).   I am posting this to ask for prayer support for her and her family during this busy time.  Thanks!

PS:  Isn't she beautiful!?!?

Nerf Gun Wars

I have to apologize to those of you getting sick of seeing pics of our vacation.  I post these for my family that live WAY TOO far away...it helps the distance shrink!

Our boys loved having Nerf Gun wars and even convinced the big boys to join in.

First you load...






...then you sneak up on your opponent...

...run if your opponent gets too close...

...aim and fire!

...and then take a break to come up with new strategies!

Cousins

A cousin is a ready-made friend for life.
Anonymous

One of my favorite things about spending time with Kathy and Mark is watching our kids interact.  They are cousins, but more importantly, they are the best of friends! Our kids love doing everything together...from swimming, to watching TV.

One day Alex and Kiannah decided to take the paddle boat out...not knowing that it was broken to the point that it was nearly impossible to paddle and steer.  They paddled using their hands and after a valiant attempt to paddle to shore, they signaled to be rescued.  We all got a good chuckle out of their distress! lol!

 I think these two boys compare almost everything...even their tans...yes, they do have tans, but unfortunately the bright sunlight doesn't allow for it to show.

Don't you love the glazed over look on each of their faces? ha ha!

I think one of the most memorable things that happened was Alex's encounter with a forest animal.  Our evenings usually ended with the little girls being tucked into bed,  the older kids watching a movie, and us adults playing a game of Settlers...LOVE that game!  One evening I asked Alex to go check on the girls...reminding him to stand outside the camper door and count to 20 to make sure they were quiet and asleep.  I remember feeling a little guilty that I wasn't doing it myself...but concluded it would be good for Alex.  A few seconds later Alex came running inside...eyes wide, face white, shouting "I saw a bear!  I saw a bear!"   Martin immediately asked where, and looked out the window to see a 300 lbs bear meander into the bush!  The next day we asked Alex to show us exactly where the bear had been and where he had been standing.  Low and behold he was a mere 6-8 feet away from the bear!  I was so very thankful it had been Alex checking on the girls and not me!  I would have fainted on the spot!

We notified the owner and to our surprise realized the screen in front of the porch window was there because shortly before we arrived, this exact same bear had broken the window looking for food!!  We were assured he had only been searching for the dog food he had grown accustomed to having...

Our pictures may fade, but our memories won’t.
Anonymous

Howling Wolf Resort-Part II

I simply HAD to post this picture! Have you ever seen anyone watch TV like that!  Owen does!  Love it!

The kids loved the lake at Howling Wolf Resort and spent many hours playing in the water.  We made our kids wear life jackets even though they are all great swimmers simply because the water was a little cold and very deep.  It had a huge drop off near the shore and seeing as I'm not a very good swimmer I had no intention of jumping in to rescue someone. lol

Morgun is a natural when it comes to jumps and even dared to twist while jumping.  His expression says it all!

 

Alex on the other hand is a little more reserved, but did jump several times.  I have to chuckle at this pic...it looks like Alex is thinking..."Oh crap!  What did I get myself into???"  :)

Raina and Malia spent their time collecting snail shells.

The guys also went fishing.  This is Martin and Alex's catch...just enough for everyone to have a taste of some yummy fried fish.

One day we headed to Lake Superior...beautiful!

There are many pics that I could not post.  Kathy and Mark are in the process of adopting Baby Bee through the foster to adopt program in the USA (wish we could do that in Canada!), and I can not post pics of her face until she is legally theirs, which should be sometime this fall.  If you think of it, would you mind praying that their process will proceed quickly and without any cliches?  Thanks!

As you can see, she is the cutest baby ever!  We all fell in love with her instantly and can't wait to see her again!

Howling Wolf Resort

It's been two weeks since we got back from our wonderful vacation in Wisconsin where we met my sister Kathy and her family.  I apologize for being so slow in posting.  My computer is once again working...(I think it may be time to invest in a back up computer) and I'm slowly catching up on my yard work.  I spent 5 1/2 hours on the tractor yesterday tilling my trees and I'm so glad to be done!  What a boring job!  I suppose I shouldn't complain.  It is a lot easier than picking peas or beans(sometimes 2-3 hours a day)...which I've been doing a LOT of lately.  My freezer is slowly filling up with all the wonderful and healthy homegrown produce...can you tell I'm trying to convince myself it's worth the effort?...oh right!  I do it cause it's the only way to eat healthy and keep our grocery budget down.

Anyhow, enough whining!

We decided to meet in the middle...so to speak...and still had a 17-18 hour drive...and that's not including all the stops.  Our kids travelled very well.  We travelled with our camper and loved being able to stop at any time, whether it was for a bathroom break or to grab a bite to eat.

We met at this resort.

Kathy and Mark stayed in one of the cabins and we shared the kitchen and living areas.  It wasn't fancy, as you can see.  This is the main leg of the kitchen table!  What a hoot!  It had various objects stuck into it's base in an attempt to steady the table!  lol!

However, it was the perfect place to relax.  It was very quiet and peaceful and the accommodations were adequate, although very simple.

Our girls had a blast playing with Kiannah.  That girl has an incredible imagination and Malia soaked it all in and loved it!

I was so proud of the older two...always waiting for Raina to catch up.  Couldn't ask for a more mature and caring cousin!