Stones

SO....stones grow, or maybe you weren't told that as a child. I am blessed to have two uncles on my mom's side of the family, and as a child we spent quite a bit of time at the Schwartzentruber family farm. And I was told by one of my uncles, I cannot remember which one, that rocks grew. And for 20 years, I believed them.

It wasn't until after Wayne & I were married that I found out I had been lied to. Of course we (Wayne & I) were picking rocks from the field one day and I randomly commented that we should pick up all the little ones, so they do not grow bigger the next year and thus save ourselves time next year. Well...... first he laughed then he told me that rocks do not grow. We had a HUGE heated argument, because we both believed that we were in the right.

Now I can look back at that and laugh, but at the time I was quite upset. I really thought I was right and rocks did in fact grow.

Recently there was an article in the Rural Voice (March 2007) about stones. Here is a direct quote "Stones multiply and grow. It is not known exactly how, but it you leave a stone long enough it might become a boulder. Stones are probably male & female - the male stones would be the darker heavier ones and the female stones the sparklier pretty ones. How they mate is not known for sure."

So I show this article to my husband and declare "HA, I was right!" with a mischievous grin on my face, Wayne was disputing the article left, right & center, until he realized that I was spoofing him.

But in all sincerity, I really do like rocks. In fact I "plant" them all around in my flower beds instead of flowers. Who knows maybe next year there might be a few more!

Blessings

Family

The Kaufman grandchildren.

This photo was taken last year (2006) as our family went camping with my sister, her husband and their four boys. My mom & dad came along as well. We have SO much fun, spending time together.

My mom & dad are blessed with seven grandchildren, only 1 girl, with all those boys, but Krystle is right in there when it is time to play hockey, soccer and whatever they come up with to do. And since Gerard is able to come to family dinners it makes the teams even! LOL

My sister came up yesterday, the kids had a P.A. Day, so we were able to get together, her boys wanted to meet Ace, and of course play the X-box that we have. It was wonderful to sit and visit and get caught up on our very busy lives.

Growing up, Becky & I didn't always see eye to eye on a lot things, and I am sure many of you can agree with me, that it's not until you grow up, do you realize how important family actually is. As we chatted about this and that and probably everything else, I realized just how special it is to have a sister. I am sorry to those of you who do not have a biological sister, but you can still have a sister. Once you are in the family of God, you have many brothers & sisters in Christ.

I have been blessed to get to know so many women through the Heart to Heart program that runs for 9 weeks during the spring and Fall at our church. I think it's important to have women friendships. Our husbands are wonderful, but they do not quite fill that place in our hearts. I mean who other than another women can truly understand the myriad of emotions we go through as our kids graduate (kindergarten, GR 8, highschool, gulp college) OK I am not ready for that one yet! LOL

Life it too short not to invest the time into another's life.

Thank you to those of you who have invested in my life.......You know who you are

Young Love

Young Love!

Oh how sweet it is. Krystle and Gerard have been dating for almost 2 years. WOW! I can hardly believe that it's been that long already. way to go guys!

Gosh, am I really old enough to have a daughter who's dating? No comments from the peanut gallery either. LOL

It has been alot of fun to watch their relationship develop. I mean they kind of knew each other all their lives, going to the same church, seeing each other at Sunday school, junior youth and then into senior youth. It wasn't until the end of Krystle's senior highschool year that they started to date.

It's very exciting for me as a mom to watch our kids grow up. It's hard though too, because as they are getting older, they are becoming more their own person and not an extension of me. I guess that's a good sign. To really do our job as parents well, we put ourselves out of a job.

It's so hard to imagine that when I was Krystle's age I was married, I had her and was expecting the next one. My how times have changed. She is working on getting her Bachelors of Religious Education Professional: Human Services. One year down, three more to go. Gerard plans to do an apprenticeship with Manufacturing. I am not 100% sure what that really means, but I do know that he was able to do a placement with the highschool co-op program.

Well I've become very nostalgic with this post, but hey, it is MY blog, so I guess I can post whatever I want.

On one last note let me just say, how proud I am of who she has become. She has an unwavering faith, strong values & morals, and is confident in who she is in Christ. Love ya Krys!

Blessings

Proud Papa

Doesn't Kyle look like a proud papa?

Meet the newest member of our family. A little border collie puppy named Ace. Kyle bought him from his good buddy Gerard, whose female had a litter early January of this year.

Kyle sure was excited to get him and we've all been having a lot of fun with this little bundle of fur.

Can you imagine just how excited he will get when he really becomes a dad?

I can get excited thinking about the whole grandparenting thing. Although I can wait till my kids are married and set up in their own houses. But just think about it. You get to be the fun person, no more the disciplinarian.

Wayne & I have been having fun keeping some friends' children. I know they must think we're nuts cause we keep asking "when can we come again to keep your kids". But it's one of those things that once you no longer have it you realize how much you miss it.

I had read my dear friend Melanie's blog about how fast kids grow up and to enjoy each season that you have with them. Try not to push them to far to fast and neither look back regretting the past. Wise words! Thanks Mel!

As my kids have gotten older and have become more and more independent from Wayne & I, I've realized how fast time has a way of slipping by. I really love the stage we're at. It's a bit of empty nest that Wayne & I can go out, have a date, with no worries about a babysitter, but we still have kids coming and going. I am not quite ready for the complete empty nest. Thank goodness each season slowly happens.

The Apprentice

On Saturday, I helped my cousin Sandra with a wedding. It is her second of a very busy season, she has 22 weddings booked so far! This is my third year helping, and I LOVE it. I remember my very first wedding that I had helped with, I was SO nervous. I am amazed at Sandra, she has a such gentle way with people. Helping them to relax, have some fun and she gets GREAT photos in the meantime.

I have become much more confident as I wander about the day with a camera around neck. Taking random & portrait photos. I usually only take side shots, but it gives the couple more selection to choose from.

We met up with Holly & Drew at Hessenland, what a beautiful couple. They had their ceremony and dinner all at the coach house. It was such a fun day. A little cool for outdoor photos, but that just meant that we had to be a little more creative with where to take the photos, so nobody would freeze.

With my work schedule I had agreed to help with one wedding a month, but after Saturday and having SO much fun, I can hardly wait till the next one.

Blessings

Routine

Well, life has gotten right back into routine. With Darcy to school, Wayne back to busing, and Kyle back to work at Ice Culture's. This is such a cool (pun intended) company. They make sculptures out of blocks if ice. They have made such unique things, like a Toyota corolla to scale, a complete bar out of ice, mazes (life size), dolphins for table centres like this one. Kyle was so fortunate to graduate from highschool last June (2006) and in the fall to walk into full-time year round work. What a blessing! He decided not to pursue further education as of yet, but to make some money. His 18th birthday was quite a milestone. He bought a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier, got his G2 exit license, and landed a job. Pretty good for one week. He's becoming such an independent lad, I am so proud of him. I am very proud of all my kids. They each have their own unique qualities.

It is a very interesting time for Wayne & I as we are raising (?) our three kids. I question that because we have a 19, 18 & 16 year old. I mean how much parenting do will still do. I know we are still the parents, but it has changed SO much. No longer are we the disciplinarian, but more a confidant, someone to talk with, give advice and let them make their decisions. Some days it's alot harder to let them make their choices and allow them the consequences. Actually most days it is. After all I just want to protect my kids from harm. I thought parenting would get easier once they are older. But it's hard to let them go. Maybe you never really do as a mom, you just lengthen the strings. But I am getting better.

I would have never thought that I would be okay with my daughter living away from home for most of the year as she attends Heritage College & Seminary living in residence. This is almost the end of her second year. The first year, my dear friend Ruth & I were bemoaning the fact that our daughter's were leaving for post secondary school and living in residence. We thought for sure we would have never survived with them being gone, but now it's another year later. And I'm okay.

To everything there is a season and a time for every activity under heaven. I need to focus on the fact that this is just another season in my life. To enjoy it, embrace it and look forward to the next one.

Blessings

Their B A-A-A-CK

Yeah!!
Their home. Wayne & Kyle arrived at 5:30 AM. I was not able to wait up, but I did hear them come into the house. They were really trying to be quiet, but I was so excited to see them, that I slept very lightly. They were very tired to say the least.

I am so very thankful that they came home safe. Wayne was supposed to call while they were away, not for any particular reason, just to say hey. But when he didn't call, my over-active imagination started to get the better of me and I was imagining all the worst case scenarios. I was really trying not to get to freaked out, it was just so uncharacteristic of Wayne not to follow through with what he said he would do. I found out though, that with all the instructions in Spanish, Wayne couldn't quite figure out how to place a call.

Then yesterday in church, we sang the song "Because He Lives". One of the lines in it is 'because He lives I can face tomorrow'. Pastor Phil commented that no matter what happens in our lives the good, the bad, we can face tomorrow because Jesus lives on. Well...... then I started to get all freaked out, what if something bad were to happen to Wayne & Kyle, could I face tomorrow? I cannot imagine how people can manage through their struggles or trials without the strength of God.
Dear friends of ours lost their Dad, what an example these dear people are to me, they are living proof of the strength that God gives with how they are able to cope with this loss. Sure they are grieving, but what a peace they have around them.

So as you can imagine I was VERY happy to have my boys come home.
I left for work this morning leaving Kyle & Wayne in bed catching a few ZZZ"s, and I look forward to hearing all about their time together.

Krystle and I enjoyed our time together this weekend as well. We were able to enjoy supper at Aunt Gussies' on Saturday and we shared the Easter breakfast at church on Sunday. But we didn't get any baking or card making crafts done. Oh well, maybe next time. She has a very busy social life. Which is actually a good thing. I do not begrudge her to have time to be with other friends & other's family. (wink wink)
She headed back to school today, she's become such an independent girl, I mean women. It's so hard to realize that my little girl is pretty well grown up. Where did the time go?
I was able to sneak a few treats into carry-on bag, so when she unpacks she'll know that I am thinking of her.

I'm looking forward to getting back into routine, I couldn't believe how out of sync I got with Wayne away.
But I did manage to get quite a few books read, I'm still reading through the Poison Wood Bible, & Fresh-Brewed Life and of course Queen of the Castle.

Blessings