As usual, I am a little bit late with my 'monthly' blog!!! But I guess it is better late than never.
The problem with being late, it is difficult to remember what we have been up to. I have trouble even remembering what I had for breakfast this morning.
I do know we have had lots of weekend guests since I last wrote and we have had lots of fun.
We did have one weekend planned "a deck staining weekend", which never happened as planned. Sid and Mary, Danny, Cathy and their 3 teenage daughters, Rita and Tom, Kenny, Lisa and Deeny were all coming, but it was not to be.
Mary's sister-in-law passed away and Mary developed an allergy, Cathy broke her ankle and one of the girls fell and had to have her leg stitched and Kenny was having contractors in and Tom's father was sick. As the weather was perfect Paul and I decided to tackle the job on our own as we were all prepped and ready to go. We began on the Friday and were finished by the Sunday. We were pleased with the results and will give it another coat next year.
Since then Sid and Mary have been up for the weekend as was Rita and Tom and Judy and Dan. It too proved to be a wonderful weekend weather wise and we had a great time. We even managed to get out on the boat.
When Sid and Mary were here we took a ride to the Elk Farm. It is not open to the public, but in our ignorance (haha), we drove in and the people who own it are lovely. They allowed us to drive around and view this huge animals up close. We got some great pictures and if I get them downloaded I will add a couple.
Chris and Erin and Rita and Tom were up again this weekend. Erin arrived on the Thursday, so we we went out to dinner that night with John and Alex. Rita and Tom arrived Friday, so the men did boring stuff and we girls hit the shops. We all managed to get a bit of Christmas shopping done.
Last weekend, we had a happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year get together here as many of our friends are heading off to warmer climates for the winter. We had a great dinner party for 17. Everyone brings a plate and we always manage to have a great meal and lots of laughs. Charlie and Connie were the first to leave as they headed to Texas on Friday.
Over the next few weeks our Saturday breakfast club will dwindle as they depart to Florida, Texas and Arizona leaving Paul and I behind to face the winter alone!
When we have weekend guests, we usually have a big breakfast on the Sunday before everyone leaves - our friends John and Alex usually join us as well and last Sunday was no exception. John and Alex came over early so John could prepare his speciality contribution of biscuits and sausage gravy. That along with a sausage strata, bacon, pancakes, fruit and cream added a few thousand calories to my day!!!
This past month one of our friends (we met thru John and Alex), was tragically killed on his motor cycle by a drunked driver. Chris was an under cover cop working in the drug area. He was only 43, and left behind his lovely wife Carrie and five great kids. He was a very popular guy and those of you who come to our New Year's Eve parties will remember him with a long beard giving him the appearance of a biker. The beard was grown as part of his under cover work.
Chris' funeral was huge and his footprint here was such that his funeral was televised so that all who knew him could be part of his huge farewell.
Our friend Jerry (John's brother), also passed away. John called in to visit him and found him dead on the floor only a few days after his 56th birthday. Jerry became a part of our lives through John and Alex and Paul and I grew to love him very quickly. He had only recently relocated here from Pennsyliva and then into his own apartment in Richland a couple of months ago. It has been a very tragic time for John and Alex as they were very close to Chris and his family and Jerry died only a couple of days after that.
On the 2nd of November our house was featured in the Kalamazoo Gazette. We were very pleased with the article and I will enclose a link for anyone interested. Actually, I will enclose two links and one does not show all the photos published.
http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/11/living_the_dream_accessibility.html
http://photos.mlive.com/kalamazoogazette
The Gazette is also thinking of doing an article on Lauren's Immigration story. I am doubtful tho, that it will do any good even if published.
Wedding plans are coming along nicely for Erin and Chris. Lauren is doing well and has just been off doing a 3 day course for work which she really enjoyed. Damien has recently moved apartments, and work has slowed down considerably for him thanks to the economy. Kelly, Nate and Kyler are all well, but the economy is also having an effect of them.
Nate recently started a new job in the same industry and so far he likes it. Kelly's company has been going through a tough time because of the effect of the economy on the housing industry. Her company is one that has managed to stay afloat whilst many others have gone under and she is hopeful that they will ride it out successfully as it is a great company with a quality product.
Kyler turned 1 on the 1st of October. He is a beautiful boy and to prove it, I am putting some photos at the end of the blog!!!!! He had a birthday party and his other grandparents were there with aunties and uncles to help him celebrate. Paul was not feeling great at the time, so I decided to stay with him and accompany him to medical appointments that he had.
Paul is doing okay. He has passed his expiration date. He was given two years to live and that time was up in September!!!! As usual he is proving to be the exception to the rule. His determination keeps him going. As I write he is out hunting!!! Obviously, he has good days and bad days, but it doing far better than the doctors expected.
It is now only 40 sleeps til we are all together for Christmas in Canada and I can't wait. I am very excited as I miss my kids and don't get to see nearly enough of them. It will be great fun.
I could 'waffle on' for hours, but will say goodbye for now.
Love to everyone.
Kyler sitting at his new table - an early Christmas gift from us.
Kyler attending his first friend's birthday party.
Our little kangaroo at Halloween
Kyler with his birthday cake.
Our beautiful boy.
Kyler loves pizza - just like his daddy.
