Game On!

Don loves his job and really enjoys the people he works with! It always makes work more fun when you share common interests and enjoy some of the same activities.

When the Flyers (Don's team) made their way to the semi finals against the Canadiens (his boss' team), a friendly wager was expected!

As you can see, Don won!

Enjoy the finals!!

Sleep....(in my dreams)

A few days ago, I was going to do a little update about how Nate was doing, the most notable thing being the hard time sleeping at night since being home from Edmonton. Then, Friday night, turned into a pretty horrible night. I might have slept...but I can't be sure. Nate was up and restless through out the whole night. A runny nose and fever began the next morning, and Saturday night was even worse (and I really didn't think it could get worse!). Sunday and Monday, still feverish, a nose that is completely plugged, sleep at night ranges from 5-20 minutes at a time, still only eating a few bites of food each day. Ugh! The last 2 nights have been getting better, thank God (although yesterday took 2 van rides and a lot of crying and unhappiness from 8pm, when we first tried getting him to sleep, to 11:30pm, when he finally fell asleep); still not eating well and overall pretty irritable! This sure makes his regular nights look amazingly restful!

Pre-surgery, I'll admit Nate wasn't a great sleeper, but he was getting better. A marked difference since coming home from Edmonton: either Don or I spend most of each night with him (good thing he graduated to a queen sized bed!); Falling asleep isn't easy, and now instead of a few sips of water once or twice through out the night, he's going through 2 or 3 sippy cups of milk (a habit that was formed in Edmonton, I'm sure, when we were trying desperately to get calories in him at any time).

So, not a very happy place to be for now! I'm sure many can relate to sleepless nights and being pushed to the limits of your own endurance! So thankful for a sunny day today, and hopefully some time spent outside.

Smile!

Brady was walking around outside with the camera, taking some random shots while we were weeding. This one made me smile!

Isn't it Obvious?!

How could the Flyers lose when their biggest fans were cheering them on?!!

A Little Aha Moment

I had a little 'aha' moment yesterday, so I thought I'd share it here. Here's the background:

There were many times during our stay in Edmonton, that the word 'grasping' would sum up how I was feeling. Often at night, if it was my turn to sleep at the hotel, before falling asleep I'd open my Bible and just search for encouragement or for some piece of scripture that God wanted for me. There was also a notebook a friend had given me with some verses especially for our time away. Every time someone would email or leave a comment on the blog with a verse, I added it to that notebook. So there were other times during the day, when I felt I was grasping for some hope, I'd open this notebook and read the scripture.

Then yesterday, I was reading this devotional in My Utmost for His Highest (Oswald Chambers) and this line stuck out:

"If, when a crisis comes we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us."

So even though it may have felt like I was grasping for something, I think I really knew the only place there was to go was into God's word. I needed that truth and to hear God's voice in those moments.

So that was my moment....hope it kind of makes sense to you! Click on the link and you can read that devotional if you like!

2!

Our little Nate turned TWO on the weekend!! I guess he's not so little anymore, but he'll always be my 'baby'!

When we left Edmonton, I was already thinking ahead to Nate's upcoming birthday. I didn't have any specifics in mind, other than there was going to be one HUGE party....and absolutely everyone was going to be invited!

Then, after being home only a week, we had the whole pneumonia thing come up, and I realistically told myself that it really wasn't the smartest idea at all. So, I was fine with just our little family having a nice little birthday party together.....until my sisters got involved. They would have none of this 'low-key' birthday celebration! (It reminded me of the Christmas Eve that Nate got bronchiolitis - and the two of them personally came to my house to bring Nate and I to Mom and Dad's!) They planned a fabulous day in Winnipeg at Brady's favorite cousin's house! After watching my amazing niece rock the volleyball court, we headed back to the H home to get the party started!

The kids enjoyed 'their' pizza party first....

And then the adults moved on to a Chinese take on a birthday supper!

Nate did his best to blow out his candles (through his nose....when do they catch on to that blowing thing!?!).

Nate and his big cousin had to check out the ducks, who were hanging out on the neighbor's lawn.

It was a super great day! We sure missed the Schmidt's from TO....can't wait to party with you all too!

Thanks Bonnie and Michele. You guys rock. I love you both so much!!!