Sad news...............

Today was a bit of a flat day despite Chris's birthday. My Mum phoned to wish Chris Happy Birthday, but afterwards she told me that her Sister, Aunty Doreen, had had a severe stroke on Tuesday night........she was found by her gardener yesterday, who saw her through the door...............she was lying in the hallway with the telephone.............so had obviously tried to call for help.....

The stroke is severe...it happened in the left part of her brain and so it effects the right side of her body...............today when Mum called the hospital they said they hadn't been able to wake her yet.........so she's unsconscious.......

They have said that people with a stroke this severe often don't recover and we should expect the worst.

It all left me in a very melancholy mood.......I sat and looked through all my old photographs........remembered how Doreen and I used to write to ecah other and how she always encouraged me to read as a child.........she bought me 'Swallows and Amazons' which I still have, and my gold butterfly bookmark. I spent my 18th birthday with Doreen and her husband John and Doreen let my ex stay with them while he was attending conferences in London............

My Mums youngest sister died someties around 1988 from cancer.......and Doreen is her oldest sister......their other sister Pat is in poor health too...............

I guess its like facing the fact that my parents are getting older too.......that I'm getting so much older.....and with Chris becoming a teen today too its about how fast life is going.............much MUCH too fast................I only have one Grandparent still alive now............

Anyway its been a bit of a mixed bag today...happy that my Son is healthy and strong and happily becominga teenager................sad because we may soon say goodbye to another family member..................

And thats the strangest thing of all I guess......when you emigrate and you don't see family very often...if at all......you picture them as you saw them last.......you forget they have aged and changed so much................

Anyway, I am thinking of my cousins Anne and Philip....I can't imagine what they are going through...their Dad died justa few years ago and now they are losing their Mum......

On becoming a teenager...............

So Chris turned 13 today............I asked him how it feels to be a teenager and his response was.................it feels OLD!!! lol.

One of the little gifts we got him I felt was especially important for a teenager...a bottle of happy pills!!! Too funny! It's a jar of yellow candy but they're called Happy Pills...so now when he gets grumpy I can annoy him by telling him to go take a happy pill ;)

He chose the cake especially.....he's wanted that cake for ages.......he's very patriotic - for both countries which is kind of nice!

My Nephew who is 15 called and chatted with Chris for ages this afternoon and then my sister called back at midnight her time to say Happy Birthday too.

So today was a quiet family day.....and he is celebrating properly next week with his friends as he is taking them to a movie but the one they want to see isn't on until next week.........

I still can't believe CHris is 13...I sat for ages looking through my big box of photos...the ones still to be scrapbooked.......and there are a lot of Chris as a baby...................it seems like yesterday. Time is just going too fast.

oops...............

Duh, I'm such a blonde! I've completely forgotten where I put my body..............



(Actually this head kind of spooked me out yesterday lol...I was sitting in the front yard while Sam was playing in the sandbox when I saw this head between the steps of the front porch...the dogs must have chewed Barbie up and dropped the head down the gap.....was so weird seeing just a head looking at me lol!)

Busy little chefs................

All hands on deck for some major baking sessions!!!

Sibling rivalry..................

Amber and Rosie play-fight like this all the time....nipping each others ears and taunting each other with their toys.....too funny.....real sibling rivalry!

The sky NOW!!!!

I just ran out and took these pictures...the sky is a weird red and purple colour.....its raining but the sunset is seeping through.......these pictures don't do the colours in tonights sky justice.......when you see these pictures the camera is facing NE and we are looking over towards Sherwood Park and Edmonton........

Scenes from our Wednesday

The boys cycling back from the mail box:


Abby playing dress-up this morning:

Sam with his new truck from Grandma and Grandad:

Chris reading interesting article about my second cousins babys Dad who has just been given 5 years for stealing a million pounds from his boss lol! :

Susie getting back from the mail box 2 minutes after her brothers:

My cutie pie...............

England!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laurie with his treasured England flag that Grandma and Grandad sent him from back home......his plan is to pin it to his ceiling with his Canadian Flag and his Alberta flag :)

Following in Mums footsteps........

One of my budding photographers.....they all love to take pictures and have their picture taken...which is a good thing with a Mom like me who is obsessed with photography!!!

Abbys summer style...............

Abby this afternoon........................

compliments

I just caught Susannah licking her dessert bowl clean....as awful as that is (lol) i'll take it as a HUGE compliment about my rhubarb crumble!!! She just said 'But its soooooo gooooooood!' Everyone loved it :) Lloyd says its a must to be made every week until the rhubarb has been used up :)

We had some of the quiche with dinner too and that was a hit too...and the kids just love eating dinner that they've helped to make!

Little Pooper scooper............

Its funny realising that our little ones see us as role models even when we aren't trying to 'teach' something. Today I was sat waiting for the Hummingbird and Sam was pottering around...next thing I know he has one of the poop bags from the box and is pretending to scoop dog poop!!! No there wasn't any.........I clean up well before the kids go out to play! But seeing him copying what he sees me doing each day is such a magical thing! Too funny that he actually WANTS to scoop poop...whenever I suggest someone else does it no one seems interested lol!

And he's growing up knowing how important it is to clear up after your dogs too!!!! :)

Improving day by day....................

I am slowly edging nearer as I take pictures of the Hummingbirds...they don't seem to mind us sitting on the porch close to them as they feed.......I see my pictures improving day by day...I guess knowing that the little birds will come back helps me relax and not rush the picture!!

Cooking up a storm............

Today has been one loooooong bake fest!!!! It's been hard work but a lot of fun! We baked foods for today and plenty to freeze too. Its a wonderful feeling using oyur own eggs and your own fruits and vegetables.

We baked quiche's, rhubarb crumbles, brown sugar fudge, vanilla fudge, Anzac biscuits, jam tarts.............making the pastry with the children is always fun....Abigail had her own bowl or flour etc but as she tends to knead it until its like leather we let her make a set of jam tarts with it....they all made jam 'pasties' with the loeft over pastry too (just like I did when I was little and baking with my Mum)

This afternoon the kids set up a kids olympics outside and had long jump contests etc.......that was fun to watch...Sam played in the sand box beside me with Abigail for some of the time and they joined in with the others too.

The kids have had a big thing about photography today too.......this morning Abigail spent ages taking pictures of us all busy at work with my little point and shoot........then the others took turns....Susie brought the camera out with me and we sat on the porch waiting for the Hummingbirds but they only seem to come on the brief moments when Susie runs inside to do something! Too funny. I told her its because the Hummingbirds think she is too beautiful and that they worry they won't be as beautiful close to her! She liked that idea ;)

The older three cycled to the mail box and brought back two parcels....a big package of tea bags from Terry and Chris, and a parcel from my Mum and Dad with newspaper clippings, an England flag for Laurie, pretty underwear for Susie and a toy truck for Sam.....the next parcel has Lloyds and Abbys treats.....so that will be their turn........

I think Blogger is still messing up my comments......a few people have said they've left me comments that I've never recieved which is a shame.........what with that and the picture issues blogger ahs been having I am thinking of moving my blog (again grrrrrr) I know how frustrating it is to post a comment and then not have it read.....I had problems posting at Kyliesmom's blog for a while..............

I have pictures to add but I took 400 pictures today and I have to be in the mood to sort through them all and upload them...so maybe Friday.....

As of tomorrow I will officially be the mom of a teenager!!! I can't believe how fast the last 13 years have gone. This time 13 years ago I was in labour...a 34 hour labour that exhausted me!!!! I just hope the teen years are a little easier than that!!! Chris has grown into the most caring, helpful and responsible young man you could ever hope to meet.....he has so many interests, and so many plans for the future........I am so so proud of him. He is so so excited about tomorrow...even though he just can't decide what to do for his birthday...I've been telling him for weeks to choose, chat with his friends...figure out what they want to do...dinner, movie, water park at WEM, Galaxyland....sleepover, camping.......but he hasn't decided yet!!! So tomorrow will be a family day and he can get together with his friends at the weekend and do whatever......