Jan. 1,2009

Well I hope you all had a great year last year (2008). It for sure was a year that we won't forget soon.I was just reading last years blog(2007), about all the UP's and Downs, remember that? I didn't until I went back and read it. Wow what a crazy year that was and now looking back on 2008 what a crazy year that has been for us too. Our lives have changed so much with the move and all. I still miss all our friends. I talk to some on the phone and some on Face book but it just ain't the same eh? I still haven't recovered fully from that cancer operation but I'm getting better all the time. At least I think I am anyway and that helps me get through the days.
Well lets see what can I tell you about that you don't already know. Ok guess that's it bye. Okay, okay I go on, just kidding. Well Kristy and Bob are still in South Africa and they won't be home until a year from July or that's what I think their plans are. It sure sound's like a long time. Mandy and Jorge and little Josiah are in Chile but will be home sometime in February. Then Jorge plans to go to school for a couple of years and then back to Chile.Tom is on his way to Chile for 2 weeks just checking things out and Jorge and Mandy are going to give him a tour of the Youth With a Mission Base and show him some of Chile.Tom has never been out of the country before so this will be all new for him.Hope he don't come home and decide to move . ha ha
It could happen but I guess he will go where ever God sends him and who knows if we will follow or not.I'm sure God has a plan for us he just hasn't shown us yet. ha ha.
Oh I am applying for a hearing aid that hopefully will make Wendy and the kids happy. Hope it makes me happy to. Well have to see about that.
Tanya and Tom and the kids came over for lunch. We had a good time and it was snowing again. Another 1/2" so that ain't too bad. Just enough to make the roads slippery again.Wendy is going over tonight and stay so Tanya and Adriana can take Tom to the airport early in the morning. Just me and the dog home again.sigh.Well happy New Year to you all. God Bless you .

December 29,2008

Where did 2008 go? Only 2 more days and then 2009. Time flies weather your having fun or not. Well this year has been a good year but a challenging one too. As you all know 2008 brought many changes in my life. Some good and some not so good. All in all I think more good than not so good.
I have been able to visit and have fun with my 5 grand children here in Lethbridge. They are growing up so fast. Little Isabella is walking now. She just turned 1 and what a cutie she is. Little Amelie is 4 and such a sweetheart. Kellen is 3 and is as big as Amelie and a bit of a wild one at times. He likes to play with the dolls when the girls play but he is all boy for sure and keeps mom and dad busy a lot. Erylin is 7 and is a Gram's girl for sure. Sticks to her like glue. Then there is Adriana. She is 11 and is as tall as her mother and growing taller everyday it seems. She is still a Papa's girl but has a bit of competition now with the other 4. Tanya and Tom are so blessed with the 5 of them. What a lovely family. We spend lots of time with them and it is fun. Wendy and I spend lots of time with them and just enjoy them so much.
As most of you know Kristy and Bob are in South Africa. They left in July and I sure do miss them.I do talk to them on MSN or Skype but that is a long ways away. Mandy, Jorge and Little Josiah are in Chile now and they left here on Dec. 9th I believe. They will be there for 2 months and then are coming home to Lacombe until Jorge starts school.I believe that is in September some time. Not sure when that is but he is looking forward to that. We are missing them a lot. Even through Lacombe is 4 hours away we often got to go see them or they would drive down to see us.
Well the sunny south ain't so sunny right now but they say it is going to get better soon. I really hope so because I am tired of winter already. Well I hate to tell you this but is has started to snow again. Maybe it is not going to get better raight away. ha ha.
We are planning to go to Flordia in the new year for a couple of weeks. We are going to Tampa to see my sister Betty and Renea first and then we are going to Beverly Hills to see Merlin and his wife Betty. Sis is going with us and stay a few days if she can get the time off.I hope she can.Wendy is looking forward to going. She hasn't see my sister in about 20 years. I am hopeing to visit my aunt Wayna whie we are down there. I thinkk she lives about and hour and half from Merlin. She lives with her daughter Linda and her husband but I don't know what town they live in.
I am hoping that this spring I will be able to find something to do and make a little money so I can buy a small garden tractor with a mower and maybe a tiller.i found last year that our 4 lawns takes the wind out of my sails and it takes me so long to spade up the garden. I hate this getting old thing but ain't no way to stop it eh? It happens to all of us I guess.
Today I called an old friend of mine Dwayne Thomas and we had a good chatt. Dwayne use to work for Loewen Window and was their sales manager for the south area. He moved to Calgary and shortly after that the company downsized and he was one of the unfortunate one and was let go.He is only 63 and I'm sure he will be able to find something to keep him busy.
Wendy and I are meeting more people thru the Seniors center.The have been very warm toward us and I am sure we will have many friends once we get to know the people around here. A lot of the seniors around here are gone from November to March. They head south when it starts getting cold and I don't blame them.I guess we are getting settled in here in Picture Butte and I kind a like the small town living. It is different but think I am going to continue to like it more as time goes on.
I haven't built any Piano Benches since we moved. Maybe they don't use them anymore eh? Of course I haven't persueded it maybe I should get off my hands a make a few phone call eh? It woould be nice if I could fine something to make a bit of spending money on now that I have my garage all set up and a heater so it will be nice and warm. Any body got any good ideas what I could build or anybody need something built? My phone number is easy to remember. 403-732-4444. Even if you don't need something built call and we could chat anyway. I seem to have a bit of time on my hands now.
I am doing a bit of stuff around the University Alliance Church but I still would like to get into a mens bible study of some kind. I think that would be fun.I really miss our old Mens group. We met for many years and that seems to be a gap in my live now. Oh well like I say time marches on and things change.
Well may God richley Bless you all in this new year.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Love you all.

Wednesday Morning Dec.10,2008

Well I guess it is about time I blogged eh? Ya it has been a while.Not to much going on in my life now I guess. Just the usual getting up in the morning and going for coffee. At my age life is not to exciting and they say don't get to excited, it's bad for you heart. ha ha. If your read Wendy's blog she told you about our weekend ao I don't have a lot to add. It was good to see that she enjoyed it.
I just finished building a change table for the nursery at our church. I really enjoyed building it and it felt good working with wood again. It was so nice to work in my garage. I have a heater and it works just great. Most of the time I spend in the garage I have to take my coat off as it gets pretty warm in there. Now all I have to do is a light sanding and then I have to put a stain or something on it. Guess I should go fine out what color they want it.
We got a little snow the other day but yesterday we got a nice warm wind and it is almost all gone. I guess we are getting use to the small town and making sure we go to the store before 8pm. if we need something.It is kind of quiet and I don't mind the traffic. (OH sorry what traffic??)
I have started playing my harmonica's on a daily bases. Maybe one of these day s I will fine someone to jam with. Who know what the Lord has in store.
It seems like I am spending more and more time on face book and not sure that is a good thing but I don't seem to have a lot of time for TV lately and I think that is a good thing.
Well God Bless you all and have a great day.

November 20,2008

Ya Ya I know it's about time but for some reason I have trouble blogging lately. It used to be fun but now it sems that it is hard to write anything that might be exciting to other people. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that eh? Oh well, lets see what has been happening in my life? I am still staying pretty busy most days. I am doing a little fixing at the church and do a little bit at the seniors hall, I am now curling 3 times a week and that is fun. I just have to learn the rules and learn to throw the rocks at the right speed. It is surprising how you can make that rock turn(curl in one direction or the other. They call it( in turn or out turn) makes since eh?
The night before last Wendy and I walked up to the lake and there must have been thousands of geese already on the lake and they kept coming but the hundreds. I never saw so many geese. They say that next year there will be 4 time as many because they usually have 5 to 8 little ones every year. Quite a sight and they are noisy too.
Today I have to take back some scaffold back to a fellow I borrowed it from and get it out of my nice clean garage. It is kind of neat to able to walk around and do things in a nice clean garage. My old one was so small and cluttered it was hard to walk around and never could get a car in that one either. Last night Wendy put her car in there.
Well I guess I should go into Lethbridge and see what I can find for Wendy for Christmas. Anyone got any Ideas? We are having our Christmas on November 29th. with Mandy and Jorge and Josiah,Tanya and Tom and the kids and Cassy and Mario. Guess I had better buy a good size turkey because I am doing the cooking that day. Mandy and Jorge are going back to Chile the early part of December for 2 months so that's why we are doing it early. Seems funny having a Christmas tree up now but it sure is pretty. However I didn't see anything under it with my name on it. Hope they didn't forget me eh? Oh well I'm sure that somebody will remember the old fellow that falls asleep on the couch. Hey I'm not the only one that does that RIGHT Tom? ha ha
We are excited about meeting Cassy future husband Mario who just flew in to Canada yesterday from Brazil.
Well I have lots of things to do so I had better get going and at least buy a turkey eh?
I pray that you wll will have a great day and that God will Bless you all.

Tuesday evening

Well here it is Tuesday and I have had a busy day. Boy how the time does fly weather your having fun or not. sigh. Today I got up had breakfast and headed to the Cactus for coffee. The I went over to the Senior's Club and helped Dwayne move all the table and put the chairs against the wall. Then I came home and went in the garage and moved things to the side because I took down all the shelves I had up so I can put the ceiling up when Jorge comes. Then I drove to Lethbridge and went to Tanya and Tom's for Tea and measured up the change table she wanted me to look at. Then I came home and picked up some branches and took them to the back. I was going to rake some leaves but the wind was blowing too hard. We have a big Willow tree in our back yard and when the wind blows hard a lot of branches blow off the tree. Some are about 1/2" in diameter. I pick up from that stupid tree almost every day. You would think that they would stop breaking off. They must grow back fast. Then I cooked supper for Wendy and I.

Yesterday I curled for the first time and it was fun. I think it will take a bit of time to get good at that game but I am going to try. Now I have to go buy shoes and a broom. Then I will have to learn to yell HARRRRRRRRRRRRRD. Just when the other guys are sweeping eh?? I guess I am the youngest guy there. One of the fellows is 87 and he throws a mean rock. Hope I am that good at 87. Actually hope I can at least go watch at 87. ha ha. I was surprised that it is pretty cheap to curl for the Seniors. Well We might go over top Tanya and Toms again tonight so guess I am out of here for now. Hope and pray that you all have a great day and God bless you all.

Wednesday October 15, 2008

Today was a real busy day for me. After checking my e-mail and of course face book and reading all that stuff I decided to go out side and trim some branches off a pine tree we have in the front of our house. The telephone wires were rubbing on some of the branches. With winter coming I thought that maybe today would be a good time to do it. There were more branches than I had figured and it took me until about 12:30. Then I went down to the Cactus restaurant for lunch. They have a Wednesday special (Stake sandwich and french onion soup). I don't go to often but I really enjoyed it today. I just might have to go again next Wednesday.
After lunch I loaded my pickup with branches and some garbage I had in the garage and went to the dump. They told me at the dump that I couldn't bring anymore tree branches today because the bin was full. They said I could bring more on Saturday. I came home and decided to trim the tree at the back of the house that was touching our roof. A bigger job than it looked. So up on the roof I went with saw's in hand. I had to cut about 7 branches and they were quite large. Then I decided to clean the eve's while I was up on the roof. About 4:30pm. I came down and put the saws and ladder away. Then I went out back and drug most of the branches that I cut off down to the back gate. I probably have about 3 or 4 loads to take to the dump but I have to cut them into pieces not larger than 4 feet. While I was dragging them down I slip and hurt my back a bit but I don't think it will be to bad. It does hurt a bit but I'm tough right? Tomorrow I'll drag the rest of them down to the gate, cut them in to pieces and then I probably should rake the lawn next to the house and clean that up. I also have to dump all the fountian out and put them away for the winter before it gets too cold. They had ice in them this morning. Then Friday I should rake off the back 2 lawns and clean the garden up. Guess I have my work cut out for me for a few days eh? Good thing that I don't have a job eh?? I don't think I would have time for a job. ha ha.
Well tomorrow is another day. I thank God that I am able to do all this stuff. God Bless you all ahd have a great day. Love you all.

Oct. 14, 2008

This morning I went to a Seniors breakfast here in Picture Butte. They do it once a month. There was about 50 people there. I had a free breakfast because last month I won the draw. They draw names for 2 free breakfast every month. Then I took Mandy and Josiah to Lethbridge and Mandy picked up her car from Canadian Tire.Mandy and Josiah are staying with us for the rest of the week. He sure is a cute little man. After dropping them off I went to Totem's then to Home Depot and Wall- Mart looking for a Silicone spray but had no luck. Wendy has a roll top desk and I thought that I could spray it with Silicone it would work better but can't find it down here. Maybe when we go to Edmonton I will stop at Superior Lumber and buy some.
Then this after noon I went outside and blew the water lines out with the air compressor so they won't freeze this winter. The wind has been blowing real hard for the last couple of days and has blown most of the leaves away. I have to make a trip to the dump with some tree branches and some grass cuttings that were left here by the people we bought from.Sometime in the next couple of day I have to trim some branches from the tree out front of our yard because they are rubbing on the phone lines that come into our house. Guess I should do that before I go to the dump with the other branches. If is is nice tomorrow I am going to do that.
Wendy is happy that Mandy and the little guy are here. It's nice to have them for a week. Jorge had to work so he had to go back on Monday afternoon. I'm hoping it will be nice tomorrow and I can get some of the stuff done outside before it really gets cold.
Well God Bless you and have a great week. Love you all.
Oh maybe you could just pray that maybe Wendy and I could find a small group. I feel we should get into one for sure. Thanks.

Wednesday has been quite a day so far.

Hi everyone. Well this morning at about 2:30 we received a phone call from a lady in South Africa saying our daughter Kristy had been in an accident but was okay. Then she put Kristy on the phone who was still hysterical and really shook up. The van they were in hit a patch of water from a flash flood and went into the ditch full of water upside down. Both her and the driver were trapped in their seats with the belts and couldn't release them. Their heads were under water. I guess a person that stopped saw it and had a knife and cut the seat belts and freed them. It must have been a scary few minutes. Kristy said she thought she was going to die on her birthday. God is so good they only have a few bumps and bruises and one fellow who was also in the van had a few stitches but nothing real bad. Thank you Lord. I can't imagine hanging upside with my head under water and not be able to get the belt off. Thank you Lord for sending an angel (angle)there with a knife to cut them free. They were all taken to a hospital and released after the one fellow got some stitches. He was able to crawl out of the van because he didn't have a seat belt on. Makes you wonder eh? They maybe could have been hurt worse if they hadn't had them on. I just thank God that they are alright.
God has been working in our lives for the pass few days. Wendy had a lump come up in her neck about a week ago but they found out that it is just a small cyst on her Thyroid and told us that it is nothing to worry about for now. I had and appointment with the cancer doctor and he said that (I will live until I die) things look real good and I have to go back in 6 months for a check up.

Well then this morning we got an e-mail from Wendy's uncle in England telling her that her aunt Joyce had gone to meet the Lord. I think she was about 92.

We have 2 of our grandchildren that stayed over night with us for the first time last night. Amelie is 4 and Kellen is 3. We had to go to the bakery this morning and get doughnuts and before they go home we have to go get slurpies. It's kind of important to a 3 and a 4 year old eh? How come I never got a slurpee when I went to my grandfathers. I guess because they didn't make them back then eh? Sigh. Well that's my story and I am sticking to it. Love you all and God Bless you.

A Happy Birthday to Kristy in South Africa

I know I'm a little early but when your reading blogs I am usually fast asleep.
Hi Babe. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Kristy , Happy Birthday to you. I sure do miss you. I love you sooooooooooooooooo much. How did Daddy's little girl get so grown up and so far away? I thank God for you every day. You are such a Blessing to us. It is so good to see God working in your life.
God sure has given us some great times together :-) . I love to hear you laugh :-D . I used to have fun hiding little sticky notes O:-) . I remember putting you to bed when you were little. Not sure which one of us went to sleep first. ha ha :-[ . I think I slept in the bottom bunk bed more than anybody. ;-). We sure had lots of fun camping :-P . Never did hear the story Mum was reading. sigh :-( . When you were real little I used to hide in the bedroom and you would come down the hall and I would jump out. You laughed so hard. :-D . You were always quick to share everything that you had with your sisters :-) . You were always quick to show you sisters and your Mum how much you loved them :-) . I think you cried more when they were hurt than they did. :'( . I love you Kristy with all my heart and I pray that this will be a great Birthday. You will always be Daddy's little girl. :-* . I look forward to reading what you have written in my day timer every day.

Happy Birthday Babe. Love you Dad

Oct. 4,.2008

Well this is way over due. Where do I start. We have been busy and with the great weather that seem to make things a little busier. Not a whole lot exciting has been happening. I caught a cold and that put me down for a few days. Wendy has been working quite often lately so I have just been doing things around here that need doing and that never seems to end. I ran out of wire and had to go get some more underground wire for the bird baths. I put 3/4" pipe into the ground behind each bath and ran underground wire to each one. Now I can just plug the wire into the outlet in the garage and I have power to each bird bath with out running extension cords all over. Digging the wire in was not a fun job with all the tree roots but with the axe and a good spade I got it in. I finished insulating the garage ceiling and now am just waiting for help to put the OSB board on the ceiling. Jorge and Tom are coming for Thanksgiving dinner maybe after dinner I can get them to help me put it up. The garage is about 13 1/2 ft. high so I really can't do it myself. Wendy and I have been walkng a bit lately. We have been walking around our lake here and it is just beautiful now.
Wendy's car overheated yesterday and weI got up at 5:45 this morning and drove to her job and we took the car to Fountain Tire and they are going to look at it on Monday. Not sure what that will cost but it has to be fixed. Good thing we have the third car's eh? She took the Saturn to work tonight. Tomorrow is her birthday so I baked a cake this afternoon. You probably didn't know that I am a baker too.
It sure has been quiet here since the kids moved. For the last 2 weeks we have gone to a Baptist church here in Lethbridge. Park Meadows I believe it is.

Tomorrow Tanya is going to run the 5 klms. for the Brest Cancer fund. I am going to meet them tomorrow morning about 9 and go watch and cheer her on and hopefully get a couple of pictures. Wendy's birthday is tomorrow and then on Monday our little Kellen is going to turn 3 and then on the 8th. it is Kristy birthday. So we have lots of birthday this month.
We still haven't got into a small group yet. We did go to 3 Seniors lunches. One with the Alliance Drive seniors, one with the Park Meadows Baptist and one with the seniors here in Picture Butte. I have been eating well anyway eh?
I still haven't found a music group yet but haven't looked to hard. Well I guess that about it for today. God Bless each one of you and have a great day.

September 22,2008

Well I have been busy for the last week doing gardening with the kids and putting things together here at the house. We bought a new TV center from ika.
Lets see first I think it was Friday, Wendy and I drove first thing in the morning to Calgary and went to ika to buy an entertainment center. We had it all planned and knew just what we were going to buy. We had been looking at this unit in Edmonton when we were up to see Cynthia and the kids. We measured it all up when we came home and decided to go buy it. As we left we stopped here in Picture Butte at Gas King and gassed up. Wendy asked if we should call before we went just to make sure they had them in stock but then it would mean driving 2 minutes back home and trying to phone that would probably take and hour if we could even get someone to talk to eh? So we decided to just go and hope that they had it in stock. Well we got there and went right up to the area where the TV centers were and as I was remeasuring Wendy said (Oh no! I don't think you want to hear this) and then she just pointed to a big Temporary Out of Stock sign hanging on the left side of the display. We both just looked at each other and laughed. Sigh. But we weren't going to let this make us mad. We said well we will just have to design our own TV center. They have lots of options so for the next hour or 2 we picked out different types of shelf's and bases and decided to make it work for us. Then we went for lunch and right after lunch we went back upstairs and doubled chequed to make sure what we were going to buy would work and we decided that it would. So then we grabbed a couple of carts and down we went to the warehouse to get the goods. We had about half of the stuff loaded and Wendy went over to look at the Temporary out of stock item and yup you guessed it, they had lots in stock. Again we just looked at each other and laughed. We just wasted 2 1/2 hours figuring this whole thing out and they had them in stock all the time. So! do we unload all this stuff or do we take what we had loaded and go with it. We took another few minutes and talked about it and decided that we would go with what he had just worked out. It was a bit more money but it is a bigger unit and might look better. Those units are heavy and it took us a while to get them in the truck. We couldn't close the back of the canopy door( I got a Ford Ranger, remember?)but put some string on it and home we went.When we got home we just put everything in the garage and decided we would put it together another day.
It was still a beautiful day out so we decided to go dig up some of the carrots and beets that we have in the garden. We didn't realize how many carrots we had as we only dug up one row and had a wheelbarrow full. We cleaned, cut and sliced and froze 14 bags of carrots and decided to wait on the beets. That's a lot of work doing that.
Then Saturday I put a couple of the shelves together and then Tanya, Tom and the kids came over and we dug up another row of carrots and a row of beets. 2 wheelbarrows full this time. We ate lunch outside as it was another beautiful day. We spent almost all day working at it but we did get about 20 bags of carrots and not sure about 7 or 8 jars of pickled carrots. Tanya and the kids came back on Sunday and we finished them off. It was fun and I think the kids really enjoyed it to. Kellen wanted to know why we were doing all this but he only asked about 100 times . ha ha.
I'm sure sometimes 3 year old wonder why we do lots of thing eh? It was fun doing it with Tanya and we had a good visit too. The kids played and watched some videos and played barbe's in the new play room we made, while we worked. I really enjoyed it.
Then today I went for coffee at 8:30 am with the guys and Wendy went to lethbridge. She had some errands to do and things to buy for her canning and I put the rest of the TV center together. It looks real nice and I am glad that we did it this way. Wendy is happy with it so it was all worth it eh? Well that's my story for today and I am going to stick to it. God Bless you all and have a great day.

Tuesday morning and all is well.

Well last night Wendy, Adriana and I went to the Starfield Concert at the Victory Church in Lethbridge with Shamus and his wife Amanda. What an awesome couple. Shamus works at the radio station CKVN 98.1. We had dinner that was catered by the Guest house restaurant at the station that was really great and then we went to the Starfield Concert at the church. When we arrived at the church we were given Tee shirts and CD's. This was part of the winning the contest thing I guess. The concert was a bit loud as we were in the front row by the speakers but it really was a great concert and I enjoyed it. There was and Irish band on first and then after Starfield, Will Graham spoke. He sounded a lot like his Grandfather Billy. Gave a real simple but to the point talk and then had and alter call and lots of people went forward.
After the concert we got to go back stage and meet them all. Wendy has some of the pictures on face book.
Well today I should finish putting the underground wire in for the fountains. I only have about 25 ft to go. Our back yard still is beautiful but some of the leaves on the trees are starting to tun colors. That's a good sign that fall is on the way but it is supposed to be hot for the next few days. Well I ain't getting to much done sitting here at this silly old computer eh? God Bless you all and have a great day. Oh well at least they got the halo in the right place eh?

Friday afternoon. It has been a good day.

Wow it's been a long time since I blogged. Well today was a real special day for me. I was up on a scaffold insulating my garage ceiling when I got a phone call from CKVN (Shamus ) telling me that I won the Starfield tickets to the concert. So Wendy and I are going to the Guest house for dinner with Shamus and then to the Starfield concert. Sure sounds like fun eh? Last Sunday Adriana came to my house after church and said we should take a picture for the Starfield concert contest that Shamus was doing on CKVN. When we have the radio on in the house or in my garage or in the truck it is always on CKVN- 98.1. I really enjoy the music they play. So my sweetie and I are going to the concert on Monday at 5:30pm. with Shamus. I met Shamus at a church BBQ about a month ago. Not sure he'll remember me. I really enjoy the music he plays every day. Wendy just came home from Calgary and it is good to have her home. I really missed her for the 3 days she was gone. When I'm home alone I find myself talking to the dog alot and I'm not sure that is good. haha. She never says much so I answer for her. She is a good old dog. She sure misses the kids now that they have moved.
Mandy, Jorge and little Josiah are on their way down her for the weekend. We sure do miss them around here. We are all going to celebrate Tanya and Isabella's birthday. Tanya is -- and Isabella is 1. If you want to know how old Tanya you'll have to ask her. She is not very old for sure. Tanya's birthday was on Tuesday.
Well I finished insulating my garage and then I went out and mowed our 4 lawns then went back in a straightened up the garage. Now I have to get Tom or Jorge to help me put up some OSB board on the ceiling. I can't do that by myself. We I probably could but then I have to build a dead man and it still wouldn't be easy as the garage is over 12 feet high.Oh a dead man is a stick that looks like a tee but using it on a scaffold is not easy and i would have to work of a ladder because the scaffold is only 8 feet long. It can be done but is a bit dangerous for an old man like me.
Tomorrow morning Wendy and I are going with the Alliance Church Seniors on an outing . I think we are going to Gault Museum and then to a lunch at a golf course somewheres. It should be fun and it will be the first one with the seniors since we moved down here. Hopefully we well meet lots of new people. Ok I think this is getting to long. Have a great day and God Bless all of you.

Wednesday morning

Well I just finished blogging and just lost the whole thing. So Now I'll try to remember what I wrote. sigh.

On Tuesday evening we were getting ready to pack so we could leave on Wed. morning and Wendy went down to the furnace room to get a suitcase and noticed water on the floor from the hot water heater. We have been going to replace it but haven't yet. I called a fellow that Tom had recommended and because it was like 8:30pm. he just said that there was nothing he could do for us until next Wednesday. He told me to shut the gas and the water off and just leave until we get back from Edmonton next Wed. So that's just what we did. Wednesday morning about 5:30 am. we left for Lacombe to see Mandy, Jorge and little Josiah. We had to take Madison to Red Deer to the kennels as they we all full her in Lethbridge for the long weekend. We stayed there for 2 days and then headed to Edmonton to Wendy's sister Cynthia and her family. We helped her get her new house in order. We put beds,dressers and bookcases together. We also helped them put an old couch down in the basement. That was a bit of a chore but we did it. Poor Andrew worked really hard. He helped me put all those things together. We also put up curtain rods in most of the house and put new legs on the dining room table and put a TV stand together. Wendy and the girls put stuff in closets and got things all put away nice and neat. They seemed to be having lots of fun while they were doing it all. Sunday morning Wendy and I went to Beulah Alliance church and the after lunch we were invited to a BBQ with Ray and Shelia and some other Beulah people.We had a great time but I am not sure Shelia wanted us there as she tried to feed us Maple Leaf brand Hot dogs. You know the recall stuff. Friend ??? Maybe she really is a blond. What do you think?

After the BBQ we went to Leduc to visit some friends that Wendy used to work with. They served us a beautiful dinner. Shawn is a real good cook. Tammy and her husband were there and the another friend and his wife showed up. They all had lots of laughs and told stories about things that happened when they all worked together. Wendy was so pleased to see them all. It's really hard to leave all your friends when you move. That the one thing about moving is you can't take all your friends with you. Sigh. Well then on Monday morning we went to breakfast with the seinors at A&W. It sure was fun visiting with tehm all and finding out what they have been doing and thier kids of course. I really miss going to breakfast with them all. They are such nice people and God has bless us for many years with them. Thank you Lord for friends like that.

Well they put the new water heater in this morning and I guess it is about time I went outside and mowed all our 4 lawns. After being away a week they really need it. We must have had a pretty good frost as the leaves on the melons and Cucumber really look bad. I still have to pick the last of the beans and we have lot of Beets, Carrots,Corn and Onions yet to get. Well I ain't getting much done sitting here at this silly old computer. I just pray that you all are having a great day and may God Bless each one of you.

Tuesday Aug.26,2008

Wow it has been a while since I blogged.
Well things are going well with us down here in Picture Butte. This morning it is raining so I drove to the restaurant. Well I have been going for coffee for 5 month's and never paid for a coffee until today. I had to buy all the guys coffee this morning. I think I am still ahead of the game. They bush for coffee every morning.
Last night I took my sweetheart out for dinner. It was our anniversary. She is still as pretty now as she was when we got married . However she does have a few Grey hairs now (Not from me mind you) I think it's from the kids. It has been the Best 30 years of my life. We sure have had some up and downs but God has Bless us so much. With our daughters and son in-laws and grand kids. I thank God everyday.
We have almost every thing that we wanted to do in our house finished except for the furnace which need replacing and hopefully we can get that done soon. I am insulating the garage ceiling now and should be done in a couple of days. I am kind of slow getting things done you know. Ain't as young as I used to be. Climbing around on a scaffold is not so much fun now. sigh. Oh well I am just thankful that I can still climb on it. We are thinking of going up to La comb this Wednesday and then going up to Edmonton for a few days and see some of our friends. It sounds like fun. Wendy needs a good break and she is off for 5 day's I think.
We are pretty much settled in down here and almost used to the smell. ha ha. It is raining out and our yards need the rain.

Now that Mandy, Jorge and little Josiah are gone I guess we can move some of our stuff down in the basement. Sure do miss them . Guess I'll have to learn to cook again. ha ha.

I still haven't found a group to play music with but haven't really looked to hard. Just getting involved with the Alliance Church down here so I'm sure that will make a change in our lives. I think we need to get into a small group soon. I'm sure God has it all planned for us. I sure do miss the Men's group. It will be interesting to see what God has planned for us.

Well I have better quit before I bore you too much. Have a great day and God bless you all.

Aug.5,2008

Well it's been a while so guess I should do a bit of blogging. Last month was a busy one with lots of company and birthday parties and now things should start to slow down a bit.
Well last week Jorge's dad and sister went home and on Friday I went to Edmonton and helped my sister in-law move.I drove back on Sunday and got home about 6pm. She has a lovely apartment in the north side of Edmonton. On Monday this week we decided to go on a picnic with Tanya, Tom and the kids and Mandy and Jorge and little Josiah. We went to Police Outpost Prov. Park. Kind of a small lake stocked with Rainbow Trout and a beautiful view of the Rockey Mountains. We first went to another place but it didn't have a beach for the kids so off we went in search for Police Out Post Park.It took us a while to get there but it was well worth it. Lots of gravel road driving and lots of dust in the back of my truck. This morning I got up cooked a couple of eggs and then headed off to have coffee with the guys. After that I came home and raked up some branches from the lawns.I couldn't believe how high the grass was and it did need mowing. Our lawns are 4 times as large as our old one in Edmonton. Here we have actually 4 lawns and today it took me quite a while as it was pretty high.Then I cleaned 3 of our fountains and they really needed that. Then after trimming everything up I unloaded my poor old truck which still had the boat, 2 kayaks, all the life jackets, small portable grill, paddles, anchor, base ball gloves, pails, 6 folding lawn chairs.some fire wood , just in case eh? and what everelse you can think of . Didn't realize how much stuff we took along. We unloaded the cooler and all the excess food last night.
Wendy had to work this morning and just got home after 5 this evening.
I still haven't really looked into finding another music group but maybe I try to look this coming week. There is another Jam session this Sunday and maybe I will go to it if I have time.I believe they meet at Lethbridge but not sure just where it is. Then next week (the 3 Sunday of the month) it is back at Shauneshy where I went last month. Maybe this fall something will come up and I can find a group. Who knows??
Well that about I I can think of to write right now. So God Bless you all and have a great day.

July 20th,2008

Well as most of you already read today was my birthday. I think Wendy posted it on her blog and I got about 6 or 7 Happy Birthday wishes on face book from around the world. Thanks guys.

My beautiful wife and I have been home alone for the last few days and it has been fun. Not that we don't have fun when everyone is here but it has been nice and gave us an opportunity to spend some time together just the 2 of us.
One day we went to breakfast at Denny's in Lethbridge. We went and walked up to the special train bridge here in Lethbridge and spent the afternoon. It was tiring but well worth every moment. Today we went to church and then I went to a Jam session in Shauneshy. Not sure how to spell that. It was a lot of fun but a bit different than the jam sessions that I have gone to. I did play 4 songs and really enjoyed it.
Tomorrow Mandy and Jorge and little Josiah and his dad and sister are coming home in the afternoon. My daughter Kristy and her husband Bob will be home here sometime in the morning for only a few days and then they are off to South Africa for 2 years. Sigh. It will be hard not seeing them for 2 years but they will be doing Gods work and they love it. I know God will bless them for it someday and will keep them safe for us.
Yesterday Wendy and I went walking down by Old Man River and Tanya and the kids joined us. That was fun. Then in the afternoon Wendy and I went over to Tanya and Tom for supper and played a game after supper. Then Tom and I went to the church and Tom helped set up all the mic's and interments for the Sunday service. I didn't do much as I am new there and really didn't know what to do or how they set it up so I just watched. They had a bit of a problem and Wendy finially picked me up at the church about 1 am. and we came home.
My sister Betty and my brother Merlin called me today and wished me a happy birthday too.
Tomorrow I should go for coffee with the guys at the Cactus restaurant. Hope you all enjoyed listening to beautiful niece play her harmonica. If you missed it just scroll down.

My niece, Becky

This is my niece Becky playing the harmonica, she taught herself to play, by listening to the Kompanions cd.

She sure is good!

Tuesday evening

Hi everyone. Guess it is about time I updated this silly old blog.We have been very busy with familey and friends coming to see us and staying a while. 3 weeks ago Wendy's brother and her sister and her family and now Jorge's dad and his sister are here for 3 weeks. Jorge has been busy showing them around Picture Butte and Lethbridge. It is so good to have his dad here. He is such a nice guy and I really enjoy having him and his daughter her. Jorge's dad is a pastor in Chile and pastors 4 churches there so when he is home he is a really busy man. He is a real Godly man. Jorge is so happy to have his dad and sister her. Tomorrow I think we are all going to Waterton Lake and that should be lots of fun showing his dad around.
Our garden and back yard is just so pretty right now with all the flowers out in full bloom. Wendy is so happy with it. It is just beautiful.
This evening we went to watch Jorge play soccor but we had a storm and they had to stop playing half way thru. We had hail stones about the size of golf balls. We just got some rain in Picture Butte. Guess wwe live in the right end of town eh? It hailed for about 10 minurtes while we were in Lethbridge. Then we came home and had some supper and now every one is just sitting around or playing on the computers.Wendy is just loving haveing all three of her girl home. Kristy and Bob will be going to Red Deer on thursday and then coming back on Monday afternoon and then flying out to South Africa on Thursday afternoon next week.
We are have a great day and hope and pray you are all having a great day with us.
God Bless you all.

Saturday Afternoon

Well here it is almost the end of June and I haven't blogged in a long time. It is too hot to be out side for too long so I came in to call Wendy in England but she wasn't in. She few to England because her aunt Ruth passed away. Kristy also few over and they met and are staying at the Bournemouth Hotel. Her aunt has been sick for a while and is in her 80's. We were able to meet with her in March when we stopped in England for a few days before flying to South Africa to see Kristy and Bob.
Well today is is real hot here. I went to the dump first thing this morning with a load of Lillac bushes. Then I came home and stopped at the bakery and got some goodies. Seemslike my truck won't go by the bakery without stopping. ha ha. I went out to the garden and use the Hoe and got frid of most of the weeds in the garden. I planted some Radishes and cucumbers. Our garden is doing realy well at the moment. Have to keep it well watered as it is really hot here today. I believe it is about 30% out right now. Our back yard is just beautiful now. I was going to go up and try to fix the roof but think I'll wait until the sun goes down.
Well we had Wendy's brother Bryan and his family here and then her sister Cynthia and her kids plus Tanya and Tom and their 5 little ones and Mandy and Jorge and their new little one Josiah. So we had a house full for a full week. It was a bit hecktec but lots of fun. We sure went threw a lot of food but I think everyone including me enjoyed it. It wa good to just sit around and chat and talk to everyone. We haven't seen Bryan and his family in about 2 years.
One day we all went to Waterton Lake and enjoy a full day there. The weather here has been beautiful for the last 2 weeks. Today is the first time it has been in the 30's.

Our house is rel nice now. Wendy has it all painted up pretty and got all the picture and plaques hung up. It really looks nice. I have my garage almost finished. Still got to insulate the roof but want to make sure I have the roof so it won't leak before I do that. Bought the coating yesterday but think I'll do that later on today or Monday. It has been a lot of work but starting to really like it now. It feels like home.
Jorge's dad is coming here on the 9th. of July with his youngest sister. That will be fun for Jorge.

We are going to the University Alliance Church. Tanya and Tom and the grand kids go there.It is only 23 klm's away so it is not that far. We tried the e- Free Church but decided to go to the Alliance in Lethbridge and be with the kids. I guess that makes sence because we came down here to be closer and with them.

Just got thru to Wendy and Kristy in Bournemouth and talked for a few minutes.
They are doing fine and meeting Derrick and family tomorrow in Beournemouth someplace for lunch.
Well guess thats about all the news I got for today. God Bless you all and have a great day.

Friday

Friday June13,2008

Hi. Guess it's about time I sat down and wrote a bit about what's happening in my life eh? Well it has been a lot of work but it finally looks like I am almost finished for a while then I can start the other stuff after all our company is gone. In July some time I guess. Ha ha. I finished the bathroom up stairs and it looks real good. Yesterday I put new faucets in the down stairs shower and put up a light over the ironing board for Wendy and then fixed the side of our trailer where I scraped the fence getting it in the back yard. sigh. Then went shopping for some stuff we need for the next week or two. Met Tanya and the kids and we all went to Costco and then went to Safe-way because Costco didn't have some of the stuff we needed. Then I went and picked up a desk at Sears for Wendy and then came home and put the desk together that Wendy bought for her Laptop. Today is going to be a busy one as I have to cut the grass before it gets too high. It is growing so fast with all this rain. I have to run a wire out to our trailer so we will have electric out there. The other day I put in a new sump pump in our basement and got that working. The people before us had put in a backwash valve in the line but had put it in backward so it took me a bit of time to figure that out. So that never did work. I still have to fix the gate between our fence and the neighbors so the dog can't get out. I have to fix the back gate by our trailer that is just old and falling apart. Then later I have to fix the eves by the front door and the try to fix the roof for the winter. I have to cut down a door in my bedroom that won't close and then try to clean up the garage before everyone gets here on Sunday. I had to put a new lock on our back door last night as the old one was sticking and just worn out. Now got to make sure everyone has the new key eh? Oh well that sounds like I should be outside doing something before it rains again eh? Instead here I am sitting at this silly old computer.
Wendy's brother Bryan and his family are supposed to be here on Sunday and her sister Cynthia and her kids are coming on Tuesday. Kristy and Bob are coming on Sunday so it looks like we are going to have a busy 2 weeks ahead but it should be lots of fun. Counting Tanya and Tom's family plus our newest grandson we will have about 22 people here for a week or two. We haven't seen Byran and Sally for a couple of years so it will be good to just sit and talk but who knows what we will be doing eh? Maybe I should find a lot of little jobs that need to be done and see if I can get everyone to do them. Like cutting down some trees and trimming some and cleaning up the back yard. Just kidding. I just hope to relax and enjoy the new two weeks. Wendy is off for a while so that will be good for her too.
Well I have to go for now but someday when I get time I'll fill you all in on what happened and how much fun we had. If you happen to be in the area just stop in and sit and chat a while and maybe we can find and extra air mattress for you so you can stay a while. The more the merrier. Well thats my story and I'm sticking too it. Love you all.
Floyd

Friday June 6,2008

Here it is June and I haven't blogged for a while. Today the electricians just finished and hopefully we won't have anymore problems with the electric in this silly old house. I haven't got the bill yet but just pray that it won't be too high.I have the new bathtub in and the drywall up around it and it looks good if I have to say so myself. I now have a new window and bathtub and new wiring in the house and Wendy has painted almost everything and it is really looking good. Actually it is beautiful. My wife and daughters have a way of making things look so nice. Thanks guys. I guesss I am starting to like this silly old house. I went to Edmonton last week end and towed our trailer home and it was good to get back home here in Picture Butte. It is home now for sure. I still have a lot of work but it is all coming together. Wendy has our back yard (which is large) looking beautiful with all the new plants plus the old ones.Now if I can just find the time to go out there and sit a while eh?? Wendy is working and Mandy is in Lethbridge with little Josiah. He sure is cute and getting so big.
Well I should go finish fixing our fence in the back . I have to dig a whole and put in a new post and then put in some concrete mix to make sure it stays there. I have to fix our back gate because I hooked it with our trailer the other day. Need to fix the trailer a bit to. (SIGH).
I need to get busy and vacuum this house and clean up after the electrician. They left a bit of a mess but not bad.I hope and pray that you all have a great day. Love you all.

Thursday May 29,2008

Well it has been a while but better late than never they say. I have been working on this old house pretty much every day for a while now. Just put in a new Fiberglas tub and took the old green one to the dump. The plumbing has been a real nightmare. Trying to hook up the tub drain is and has been a real pain but I think I finally got it but cant check it for leaks yet. I am leaving tomorrow morning for Edmonton to bring my trailer back to Picture Butte. A friend of mine has been so kind to offer me his truck to pull it down. He heard that my little Ranger was to small. It is going to be hard to pull it out as I really did like the lake lot that we rented from Wally and Harold. They are such nice people.
Well things are really starting to shape up around here and thats a good thing.The flowers are starting to bloom and I have mowed the grass twice. It takes me just and hour and 20 minutes to mow the lawns but they sure do look good when you finish. Wendy has been planting some new plants and really cleaning up the back yard. Today Tanya and the kids and Wendy planted most of our garden . They sure did a good job. I was busy with the bathroom.
Adrie is going with me tomorrow so that should be fun. I haven't spent much time with the kids since I moved down here. Hopefully that will change soon. Monday we have and Electrician coming and that will solve a lot of our problems. We are trying to get this place in shape so I can sit back and relax I hope. My garage look real good and I can find things again. I put up a bench accros the front of the garage and 4 pieces of pegboard. I have most of my tools hung up but still have to put my sander and planer together and then I will be finished. Well almost finished I still have one wall to insulate and poly but I have all summer to do that.
Well it is getting late and I have a long day tomorrow so until next time, God Bless all of you. Pleas pray that we will find a church that we can call home. We really need that.

Have a great day
Love you all.

Wedesday May14,2008

Well here it is the middle of May and we are still not 100% settled but we are close. Wendy put some more pictures up and is doing everything she can to make it a little more homey and OUR house. I have not been happy with this silly house. Too many things that need repair and I guess I am just feeling bogged down and disappointed with how slow the progress is coming. I guess I don't like change and it is starting to show. sigh. I haven't been feeling the greatest and not having a Church that we can call home doesn't help either. Anyway this morning at about 4:30am. Wendy is at work. I was up and just looking around and realized that I think I am starting to like it a little more every day. Wendy has a way of making everything look so good. Gotta love that girl.
We have been running back and forth to the hospital to be with Mandy, Jorge and little Josiah. He is having a bit of trouble nursing. Please pray that he will get the hang of it real soon and can come home. He sure is a cute little guy. Last night I held him from 7pm. to 8:15pm. If you haven't seen any pictures of him just click on Mandy and Jorge's or Tanya's or Wendy's website and you can see all the pictures. On Wendy's site just go to her photo's and look for Josiah Reuben. We are excited and hopefully he will come home soon. It sure will be different having a new born in our home.
Yesterday I mowed the lawn and found out that there is a lot of lawn but enjoyed cutting it and it really looks good. Well maybe I do need a riding mower. Just kidding. I need the excersize for sure.
Well I had better get going as I still have a lot of work in my garage to do and a few more boxes to unpack so I can find all my tools. Have to finish insulating one wall and put up a couple of sheets of OSB board and some more peg board. Well I'm off to take out the garbage because the garbage man will be here soon.
Please pray we will be able to settle into a good church soon. I think I really need that.
Love you all
God Bless

Monday

Today was a busy day again. Seems all my days are busy lately. Today I insulated one wall of my garage. Only got 1 and a 1/2 to go.The walls in the garage are 10 ft. high. Not easy for an old fellow. The moving everything from one side to the other is the time taker. I Put some 3/8" OSB and then some peg board above that. I hope to have everything out of the boxes and be able to find a tool when I need it. Wendy is working again tonight. Then she will be off for 4 days. She wants us to get started with the cleaning up of the back yard. I cut a few limbs off a couple of the trees but there is lots more to be trimmed and cut and then I have to haul them away to the dump. It's a lot of work but I am starting to enjoy it. I have an eve trough problem that I would like to get taken care of so maybe I do that before she get up tomorrow afternoon. The grass is really getting green and th dandelion's are starting to come out. Guess that is about all for today. Have a great evening.
God Bless you all.

Sunday Evening

Today after church Tom and Tanya came over for lunch. We had the 4 grandkids over last night for a sleep over. First one since we moved here. Went to church this morning at the church next door.
This afternoon Adrianna, Erilyn and Amelie and I went out back in the yard and bagged some leaves. I even mowed a bit in the back but ran out of gas. Have to buy some tomorrow. Wendy just left for work and will be back home tomorrow morning at 7:30am. She works tomorrow night then is off for 4 days.
Tomorrow I hope to get some work done in the yard and rake some old leaves and take some branches and limbs that I cut off the trees to the dump. I cleaned all the eve troughs on Saturday and found that I have to do a bit of work on the eves.
Well thats about it for today guess I'll go watch a little TV. Have a great day.

God Bless you all.

Friday evening

Well here it is Friday already, where did the week go?? Today I went for coffee with the guys at the restaurant and then loaded Tanya's bike in the back of my truck and headed for Lethbridge. Adrianna was so happy to see the bike and took off as soon as I unloaded it. She sure does like it as her's was getting to small for her. She's a big girl now. Tanya and I chatted for a couple of hours and then I went to lunch with Tom. It is nice to be able to just pop in every now and then. It is 25 klms from our house to theirs.
Tonight we had the pastor from the church next door and we sort of got to know him a bit. They only have 25 registered member in this church. Guess if we join the number will jump to 29. Pastor Bob seems like a real nice guy and I hope to get to know him better. Jorge is off tomorrow. He sure comes home tired in the evening. Working in a feed lot is not the easiest job in the world. He says they just run all day long. Maybe tomorrow he can take it easy.
I still have a bit of work to do in my garage but it is starting to look good. I bought 3 more bags of insulation today and that should finish the walls. I think I'll do the ceiling later. Right now I just want to get my tools out of the boxes and hung up on the peg board. I am tired of digging thru a box to find a tool every time I need one. Well it is getting late and I am a bit tired so you all have a great evening. Love you all.
God Bless you.

Tuesday evening

Well I have a few minutes so thought that I would blog and try to keep this thing up to date. Today I spent most of the morning putting a new BBQ together. Didn't realize how many parts those thing have. sigh. I just opened a new micro wave stand and am going to try to put that together. Only about 120 pieces counting the screws and handles and hinges and shelves. Wendy and Mandy have spent most of the day painting the dining room and kitchen and 2 walls in the living room. Jorge got home from work and is now painting the baby's room. We have a man coming tomorrow morning with a new fridge for downstairs and then Sears is sending a man to give us a price on a new furnace and hot water heater. It is a bit windy out there right now but has been real nice most of the day.Well if I don't get going I'll never finish this micro wave stand for Mandy.
Have a great day.

Floyd

Friday Morning

Well I guess it's about time I sat down and wrote a bit of what has been happening in my life. Well as most of you know we moved from Edmonton on March 29th. We had lots of help loading the truck which was much appreciated. Again our friends were there for us. Thanks guys.
We arrived here in Picture Butte and moved in. Well we are still moving in I guess as I still have lots of boxes in the garage to bring in and a few in some of the closets that we haven't even looked in yet. I guess trying to put all the things from a 5 bedroom home into a 3 bedroom home don't work so good. It's kind of like trying to put 10lbs. of potatoes in a 5 lb bag. sigh. Well anyway here it is 25 days later and we still aren't completely settled.
When you move into a new (old ) house you find lots of things that you didn't see when the other people had all the furniture in it. Just little things like the lack of outlets in the walls, toilets that don't flush properly, light switches the don't turn on or off anything, light fixtures that hang down to low so people hit their heads, and a headroom problem as you go down stairs. Well we seem to have everything working at the moment but sometimes not for long. sigh. Just had to run down stairs and flip a breaker switch. sigh. Wendy and Mandy have been busy trying to get everything it it's right place. I put everything in its proper place but they assured me that,( that wasn't the proper place). Oh well you know how that works. We have been painting, putting up shelves, fixing door locks, fixing windows, trying to make the toilets flush properly, trying to make the kitchen sink drain in the basement, cutting off doors so they will close and some other things. We have a shower downstairs but none upstairs. the bathroom upstairs does not have a shower in the tub. It just has the little hand sprinkler thing so we are all running downstairs to shower. I am going to take out the window that stick's into the tub area and put in a smaller one and then take the plastic tiles off the wall and put in a tub surround and a shower head. When it warms up and stops snowing.
It has been cold and nasty ever since we moved and it is snowing right now. Well I guess there must be some good things about it all. Our kids have been a real help to us. Tom and Tanya, Bob and Kristy and Jorge and Mandy have helped us a lot. We have painted 3 rooms. The living room, the spare bedroom and Mandy's and Jorge's bed room. Jorge is fixing up th new baby's room and getting it all ready for him.
Oh! Jorge got a job working in a feed lot. He just started on Tuesday.
I have been going down to the restaurant here in the morning and having coffee with a bunch of guys most mornings. They all seem to meet about 8:30 every morning so I am getting to know some of them. I am going there this morning for coffee. Wendy and Jorge are working and Mandy is laying down so I go meet the guys.
Yesterday I insulated one wall in my garage and put poly on it. It's 10ft. high and about 20 ft. wide. I took down the old bench they had there and am going to put up a nice counter for some of my tools and put some peg board up on the walls so I can get some of my tools out of boxes and use them.
This old computer is dying . I have no sound at all and the monitor is real fussy. You can hardly read it. No my eyes aren't going bad. I know that's what you were thinking right?? I hope to go get a new one soon. Can't live with out a good computer eh??Even if I don't know how to use one. ha ha.
One good thing is that because it has been so cold you can't smell the feed lots no matter which way the wind blows. ha. ha. The back yard looks quite green at least the parts that is not covered with snow. If it ever warms up I have a lot of work I can do out there and I think I will enjoy that. Got a tree that needs to be cut down and a few that need trimming. It is a pretty back yard with a hugh garden area. Looking forward to trying my hand at growing some vege's.

We have started going to a little church that is just 3 houses from ours. Evangelical Free Church.There are about 30 or 40 people that attend I think. It is a bit smaller than Beulah. I am hoping to join the worship team and maybe play a bit of Harmonica with them. I practices with them 2 weeks ago and it was fun.

The town is small and everything closes up at 5 pm. If you want something you have to buy it before 5 or you are hooped. The people are super friendly and I am hoping to meet some of the Seniors next week at the Seniors Club.
Wendy still hasn't found her lamp shades yet and some important papers that were in the same box. I think it might have got thrown out but don't know.

Well I guess thats enough about the move eh? Have a great day and maybe when I get the new computer I'll blog again. Love you all and God Bless you.

Thursday Morning

Well it is Thursday and they said it would be nice earlier in the week but have now changed and claim it is going to be cold again for a few day. Sigh We live in Alberta so I guess we just have to suck it up eh? I am spending lots of time packing and tying to get things done for the bank and the real estate people for both houses. As almost all of you know we have sold our house and bought another one in Picture Butt. Just got the inspection from the one in Picture Butte and it is only 43 pages long. Guess I have lots of reading to do eh? I checked it out last night and didn't see anything major that I should be concerned about but I will re read it today for sure.
I have a friend that is in hospital and I am going to go and see him today. Last night I went to the church with the mens group. All on our mens group are signed up and everyone showed up last night. The church is doing a 12 week group meeting for men and I am hoping that when it is finished one of the guys will step up and lead our small group. We have 9 guys at the moment but I am leaving as of Feb. 29th and Ralph is leaving in I think 3 weeks. His is in the Military and is being shipped out . He is in the Postal division but being overseas away from his wife and kids is not going to be easy for him. Please Pray for him. Our Mens group has been meeting for long time and I really love all the guys in it. They are truly Men of God. Every one of them is capable of leading the group but people often think as I did years ago that they just don't know enough about the bible or that we just aren't smart enough to lead a group. Truth is all you need is someone to have a place to meet and a little coffee or juice, a love for the guys and a heart for God. In all the years of our mens group it has always been an exciting and meaningful time. God has brought some awesome guys into our group. Many of them have or are leading a group of their own. God has Blessed me each time we met and I thank him for that. We have told our story's , Laughed, Joked and Cried together. Our group is a group that makes you feel welcome and they are always encouraging each other and ready to listen when someone has a problem and will give you advice if that what your looking for. Anyway I'm sure God will look after each one. I pray for them everyday.
I have to get going here. Got lots of running around to do so have a real great day. God Bless you all

Thursday Jan.31,2008

Wow how the time does fly. Here it is Thursday and still colder than it should be. They are saying it is only -22 but on my back deck it was-26. Well this morning I got up at 7:00am and turned on this stupid old computer. Seems to be a habit now. It is the first thing that I do after getting up even before Tea. SIGH. Mandy was on line so I talked to her for what I thought was just a little while but when I went upstairs it was almost 8 am. Took a quick shower and out the door to Happ's hoping to meet my friend Art. I sure am going to miss having breakfast and chatting with him, he is such a nice guy. God has bless me with some really great friends. Took me almost 20 minutes to get there with the traffic but he was still there. We almost solved half of the worlds problem but ran out of time so guess we'll have to solve the rest tomorrow or Friday eh?
Then I came home and answered some e-mail and deleted a few forwards. Funny you just can't delete them all because some are really good. sigh.Then I started packing some stuff and that didn't go to well. I spent too much time listening to CD's that weren't labeled and labeled some. Didn't get a lot done before lunch. Then got down to some serious packing and that lasted about a good 10 minutes and the doorbell was ringing . The man needed to get in the back to read the meters. ha ha. He had to come through the house because I can't get the gate open as there is about 5 foot of snow and I'm not going to shovel it out. It's just too heavy and it's too cold. I told him just walk through and I wiped up the tracks. He still had trouble finding the meters in all the snow. It is only about 5 feet high where it has blown in but he manage to kick and shovel so he could read them. Then I played my harmonica a bit and before I knew it, it was time for supper so up I went and made supper. My cook has gone to Lethbridge sigh. I did manage to get about 5 boxes packed and LABELED. Okay so they are fairly small but they are packed. LoL. I don't think size matters does it????
Then my honey called and I chatted and I found out that we have an address in Picture Butte now. No I'm not giving it to you now for 2 good reasons. One is I don't remember it and 2nd. because my wife said not to give it out. ha ha. I am waiting for the inspector to call me and tell me when he is going to inspect the house in Picture and I will probably go down there so I can be there when he does it.
Don't think he is going to find much wrong there anyway but they say I should be there and I'm sure he'll want a check right?
Well that my story for today and I am sticking to it. Have a great day and God Bless you all.

Sunday Afternoon Jan.27th. and it is cold outside.

Boy is it ever cold outside. Wendy is on her way to Lethbridge and Madison and I are here in our nice warm house. I went to church this morning at 9 am. Wendy had to work in the book store and I had to take Mrs Mulbier to church so again as usual we were in separate cars. I hoping when we get moved into our new home that we can go to church together. Wendy is on the road right now and they are not good but she promised to drive slow and I am praying for her that God will give her a safe trip.
The service this morning was real good as usual. It sure is going to hard to say goodbye to all our friends when we move.
I got home and had to shovel our driveway out as there was about 3 foot of snow blocking it. I shoveled it out and just in time for Wendy when she came home. She quickly loaded her car and headed out. SIGH.
I talked to Kristy and Bob in South Africa for a few minutes and if your interested just go to links on the right side of this blog and click on to her blog site. If you go to Kristy's blog you can read her blog and that will tell you what they are doing today. You can also click on to their photo's and they have lots of pictures of Africa. I just talked to Bob's Dad as he hasn't been feeling so great. They found on Wednesday that he has some fluid on one lung and that he has been having some pain that he thought was kidney stones but they were not able to find any so that is a good thing.
Well I think I am going to do a bit of practicing and then maybe go watch a little TV or maybe pack a few more things. Okay so I might just rest my eyes a bit. I am trying to save them for when I get old eh? ha ha. I did a bit of packing yesterday and my closet never looked so nice. sigh. It was amazing all the things I had in there. Some good, some not so good. ha ha. I threw our a whole bag of clothes that I haven't worn or that don't fit any more. It's funny how you wait until you are moving before you clean things out. Oh well that about all for today. Have a great day and God Bless you all. If you think about it pray for Wendy as the roads are the pits.

Friday Morning.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to bowling I must go. Ya I am going bowling this morning at 11:00am. I think I will really miss that when we move. I have made many friends there. I think I'll miss a lot of things when we move but hope and pray I will be able to meet and make many new friends as well.I worry about our Harmonica groups but guess they will find someone. I feel like I am letting them down but I came along when they need a lead player and I am praying some will come along for them now. The Harmonicaires have already found a keyboard player to play with them. I think they should probably change their name eh? Two guitars and a key board just don't fit the name.

Mandy and Jorge will soon be here. They are coming on Feb. 9th. It sure will be good to have them back here with us.Well I'm out of here as it is getting late and I don't want to be late for bowling right?
God Bless you all.

Thursday Afternoon

Well here it is Thursday afternoon and all is well. I was told yesterday that they were going to put a sold sign on our sign out front but it didn't happen today. Today was a bit of a weird day. I got up and didn't feel so well so just hung around the house for a while. Then I went out in the COLD shop and made a piece for a clock for my friend Hess. I had to cut it and shape it to match the piece he had given me. It didn't take me to long and it was good it didn't because it was really cold out there.I made a few phone calls and tried to get some prices on renting a truck for when we move. Then I went to the post office and mailed some survey plans to the city and then delivered the piece of wood to Hess. Came home and cleaned the house and did the dish and then just laid around for the rest of the afternoon. Oh I called my Brother and my Sister in Florida and chatted with them for a while. Started to feel better so I baked some chicken and had supper. I practiced my harmonica for a little bit as we have 2 gigs coming up, one on Feb. 12 and one Feb. 14th. One with The Kompanions and one with The Rascals. Well guess it almost time to get to bed. It gets kind of boring around her being all by myself. Sure do miss Wendy. I should make a couple of copies of some CD's for a couple of guys .
God Bless you all.

Saturday Afternoon

Well I guess you all know by now that we have an offer on our house. God is good and it all happened in one day. I think he had it all planned eh, what do you think??? Well now we have to get down to some real hard looking and I just know that God will lead us right to the house that he has decided we should have. Well it will be nice to be out of debt Mortgage free and have $2.00 in my jeans. Oh lets see has anyone got a toonie they could lend me so I'll have the $2.00 in my jeans. ha ha. Just got a call from the garage that Wendys car is not ready at the garage so they are going to give us a rental car for the week. Sigh. Oh well please pray that our car will be fixed soon and not cost us too much more and that Wendy will have safe travel to Lethbridge and back on Friday.
God Bless you all

Friday Jan.18,2008

Wow! Where has the time gone? It just seems to slip away on me but then again I have all the time in the world. Well I have been feeling fine and thats a good thing eh? This morning I got up about 6:30am. and took Wendy's car back to the garage again. They still haven't been able to fix the leak. SIGH. Hope they get it done today because she is off to Lethbridge on Sunday. Well there is a lot of things happening in our lives and we have been busy getting shots(for our trip) eating out because lots of people want to take Wendy out and chat before she leaves for Lethbridge so I just go along for the ride(& the food of course). I think I have gained a few pounds in the last few days but who cares. At my age when you gain weight it makes you look younger because it smooths out some of the wrinkles. ha ha. Maybe I should gain some more eh? Oh well I don't worry about wrinkles because I don't have to look at me you do.
Today we have another showing of our house at 3:30pm. These people were going to look on Tuesday but something came up and they had to cancel. We have had lots of showings but no real good offers yet. I'm sure the Lord is waiting for the right one to buy it. I wonder if they will be Christians or not. For the last 24 years The Lord has been here with us. Well we will always have lots of good memories about this old house. It wasn't much when we bought it but we have put lots of work and love into it and I think I will shed a tear or two when I pull that door shut behind me for the last time. SIGH. I do pray that a really nice Christian couple will buy it. Oh well it's all in The Lords hands.
I am starting to get excited about moving. A bit of an adventure right. I'm sure what ever we buy Wendy will transform it into a lovely home like she has this one and will find lots of things to keep me busy. Ha ha. I hope the house we find is and old one so she won't have to beat it up and make it look old eh? I think thats what she did to me too, beat me up to make me look old. SIGH.
Well as most of you know Mandy and Jorge and the little Man child will be here on Feb. 9,2008. Boy thats not far off eh? Can't wait to see them, it's been almost a year. Then after March we will have all our kids back for a little while. God has been so good to us and I thank him every day for our family. What an AWSOME God we have. I am so happy for Jorge and Tom as the Lister and the Santana name will continue on. SIGH The Barto name will stop here in Edmonton but I think people will remember us for a day or two eh? Ya you'll remember us the guy that came form New York, Right??????? Ya the guy that Wendy brought back with her from New York or the landed immigrant that Wendy lives with ha ha. Ya, or the guy with the permanent Resident Card that lives on 175 street. Who knows if they will remember any of us when we go to be with the Lord. I'm sure somebody will remember.

Well this thing is getting long and I have to call my daughter Kristy in South Africa. Have a great day and God bless you all.

Jan.8,2008

Hi everyone , hope your day is going as well as mine. Today was one of those days when you wake up wondering is it going to be good news or bad. This morning I had a doctors appointment at 9:45am. at the Hy Center with Doctor Estay. I have been feeling really good so I was thinking well it should be good news. (Oh me of little faith). This morning I was to get the results of my PSA test that was taken on December 21st. After spending almost 45 minutes sitting in the office waiting to be called the nurse finally called my name and in we went. Wendy was with me. My test came back with a big 0 (Zero). yahoo. God is good. Prayers have been answered. Now I don't have to go back for 6 months and the doctors says that is a good sign that they got all the cancer when they operated. Thank You LORD.
Well I guess it is time to get back on track and back at doing things again.
Now the cancer is gone I just have to regain full control of the water works and then I 'll be 100%.
I questioned the doctor about that and he said that in time I will regain that for sure. Good news. I do notice that the cold weather and or running water gives me a bit of problems but the doctors said that was normal.
Well our house hasn't sold yet but Wendy has a job with the Lethbridge Police and she starts on January 21st. so she is going through some emotional times with all her friends at the com center. It is going to be hard for her to say good bye to all those people that she has worked with for the last 6 or 7 years.
So it will be me and Madison up here until it sells. Mandy and Jorge are going to be flying here on Feb. 9th. so that is not that far off. Wendy will be coming home on weekends or I will be going down there to be with her on weekends. Who knows eh?? Sounds like lots of traveling anyway.
Tomorrow I am off to the bowling ally at 9 am. and then I'll do my walk around the mall for 30 or 40 minutes. Maybe I can lose those few extra pounds that I gained around the holidays.(Ya it is only a few!) haha
Well thats my story today and I'm sticking to it . May God bless you all.

Happy New Year and what a crazy year it has been for us.

Wow here it is 2008. Can you believe it. Didn't think I would live to see it but here I am typing on this stupid old blog. It has been one crazy year for us. Talk about UP's and DOWN's well that has been our lives for the year. As most of you know our youngest daughter got married in November 2006 to a wonderful guy, Jorge Santana. I was told that I had prostate cancer. That started our up's and down's. Mandy and Jorge flew out in February to Chile and got married again for his family and then went to work with YWAM as leaders for a year.

The word Cancer scares you at the best of times. Anyway I was told not to worry about it but they did a biopsy in February just to make sure I guess. Then it was a fun time for us to get on a plane and head off to Chile to be with Mandy and Jorge for their marriage (for the second time) for his family. We were so excited to be with them and meet all of Jorge's family. After 3 weeks of fun, food and family we were back in Edmonton . Another up and down eh? When we got home the messages on the phone said to call the doctor right away. Not a good sign eh? That will take the smile off your face for a few minutes and make your head spin. We were told that it definitely was cancer and we should go to the Cancer Clinic. Then we were told that almost every man has Prostrate cancer and many men live a normal life with it for years and it is usually a very slow acting, None aggressive thing, but they did more test and decided that I should have treatment of some kind. Because I have IBS disease they ruled out radiation and we decided to go for the operation. Then it was off to talk to a surgeon and the earliest we could an appointment was September 17, 2007. Things almost went back to normal except our daughter Kristy and her husband Bob in Blackfalds (near Red Deer) were talking about going into missions. Little did we realize that in a few short months they would sell their home (just built in 2006), quit their jobs and join up with YWAM (Youth with a Mission) and in September they flew off to South Africa. It was sad that they were leaving but we were also happy for them . We would miss them for sure but they are doing Gods will and what more could we want for them?
Then we started planing our summer with the yard, the trailer at the lake, working out when we would drive to Lethbridge to see Tanya, Tom and the grand kids. Oh I forgot to mention that early in the year Tanya and Tom had told us that they were expecting their 5th. in September.

Then on July 21st. we received a call from the Surgeon that they had an opening on July 23rd. and he thought that we should do the operation then. Okay so bye bye plans for the summer and off we go to the hospital and they do the operation on July 23rd. Right after the operation the doctor came in the room and said that they were glad that they did the operation now as it was a very aggressive cancer but they thought that they had gotten it all. Ya think God might have had a hand in this? That sort of changed our lives a bit, well I guess you could say a lot. For the next few months I was house bound and didn't do much but lay around in the sun which was good but not something that I was used to and not feeling good didn't help so that was another up and down thing.
While all this was happening Wendy was having a bit of pain in her right hip. The kids flew to South Africa, little Isabella was born and Wendy had her name on the list for a new hip. Things were going along quite well. Then we decided after much prayer that maybe it would be nice to live closer to our grandkids and Tanya and Tom. That 6 hour drive to Lethbridge is a long time and then 6 hours back sigh and we don't get there too often because of Wendy 's work. We also thought that if we sold our house we could maybe pay off our debts and buy another house in the Lethbridge area and be mortgage and debt free and maybe Wendy wouldn't have to work full time and we could still survive and be close to the grandkids. They grow up so fast and we are missing that part of their lives. Well and we ain't getting any younger you know?
Well it was house hunting and looking and we thought that we had an offer and we thought that we had found our dream home. More ups and downs.
Well Wendy has been experiencing some facial swelling for a few years now when she is overtired and is stressed out ( usually when working the night shifts) and the doctors have not been able to figure out any medicine that would help this or prevent it. Finally her doctor sent her to a specialist that prescribed a medicine that seemed to really help and for 3 weeks no swelling. Only to discover that the medicine that she is taking is known to cause cancer. Another up and down eh? Why the specialist didn't tell her about that? Who knows, so she has stopped taking it because who wants to take a medicine that is known to cause cancer? However 2 days after she stopped the swelling is back. sigh.
Well that is most of our story. I still am not feeling 100% and they say that sometimes it takes the better part of a year to recover. Still don't have all my energy back and don't have full control of the water works. sigh. Our house hasn't sold and the dream house in Picture Butte has since sold. Wendy applied for a job in Lethbridge and has the job. She is to start on Jan 21st. So she will be staying with Tanya and Tom and I will be up here until this house sells. More ups and downs eh?
Well lets see if we can find the good in all this. I am sure that our house will sell and that God has a place all picked out in the Lethbridge area for us.(He just hasn't shown us yet). We have a beautiful new little grand baby, Wendy has a job and her name on a list for a new Hip, Mandy and Jorge have received his Visa and they will be flying here on Feb. 8th. Oh I forgot to mention that Mandy and Jorge are expecting. In March we are flying to England for 4 day's and want to see Wendy's relatives and then we fly South Africa to be with Kristy and Bob for couple of weeks. Oh they are talking about being leaders for YWAM . They will fly home with us and stay for a few months . Hopefully we will be all moved by then OR NOT. I am feeling better everyday and we are still able to smile everyday and Wendy and I have enjoyed our time together and we still have lots of friends. (Don't we)? More ups and downs but that is life, right? It is all in Gods Hands. We love you all. Sorry this is so long. I wasn't complaining just telling it like is, right? Maybe I'll go back to not blogging to much eh? Through all the ups and downs God has bless us so much. He is still in control.
We love you all.