Summer 2008 Summary ! ! !

The summer of 2008 will always be remembered because on the second day of summer my Dad passed away, June 22, 2008.
That set the tone for this summer.
We, mostly, stayed close to home because we wanted to be around for my Mom but also, because Wally's Mom was not doing so well either.
When we did go away, one of us stayed at home or we made sure that my siblings were around or Wally's sister was available for his Mom.

This doesn't mean that we did nothing at all!

Our summer has been VERY busy but certainly somewhat different from our last few summers and we got some good news, as well. There will be a new BABY arriving in February '09. :-)

Earlier in the Spring I had tentatively made plans to go to Winnipeg at the beginning of July for the MC Canada Assembly but, with my Dad's rapidly declining health, I wasn't at all sure if I would be able to go. As it turned out, I was able to go!

So, off I went to Manitoba for almost a week. It was a wonderful experience and could not have come at a better time. I soooo needed that time away! I was able to meet new people and see old friends; learn and think about things other than ailing parents.
I enjoyed and appreciated it so very much!
It was the first time that I participated as a delegate at the Canadian Assembly and it was most educational and it is something that I will do again, when ever possible.

I came home refreshed and ready to face my world, once again!

This summer we also celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary and Wally came home with these beautiful roses. Yes, he still does that after all these years and I love him for it! We met our children for a celebratory dinner and had a most enjoyable evening.

The food is very yummy here!
This is our "official" anniversary picture
that our children took of us!

This summer we also had two family members with special birthdays.
One was celebrated at home and the other was celebrated at a restaurant!

We had a great afternoon in Bert & Lucy's back yard!

Went out for yet another birthday dinner.
Milestone's in Abbotsford!

My Mom's NEW apartment!

This too has quite a story! Mom & Dad moved into their apartment almost 3 years ago and it is a very small unit. Right from the start they kept looking at any unit that would come up for sale in their complex. Wally & I were called several times to come and look at yet another unit that was for sale but it was never one that they liked or that would have enough space for the whole family to come and visit.
Three weeks before my Dad passed away, the unit that Mom & Dad had hoped for became available. Mom had a very hard time deciding on whether or not to buy it but the family all encouraged her to do it and in the end she did. It is a gorgeous apartment and it will need a whole separate post to show all the before and after pictures, since she is now in the midst of renovating.

Wally had his own weekend away in August but I have no pictures to show for it!
He went Deep Sea fishing with a group of friends through his work. They went to the West Coast of Vancouver Island and he filled up our freezer with fish again! That proves it for me! :-)

The Abbotsford Airshow we watched from our front deck. No need to spend money on entrance fees or mingle with a ton of people! A few times, when the planes flew overhead, it felt like they would take our roof with them, but hey, everything is still fine!

Am rather proud of this particular shot!
Amazing what a zoom can do!

Attended the "Eat Fraser Valley" Food Fair. That was a first for us and my hubby said that next year he will NOT attend. But he was a good sport and came along to give it a try!

We went to Camp Squeah for a "Ground Blessing Ceremony" on Sept. 7th. A big building project is on the way over there that will make it much more user friendly for Seniors and handicapped people.

From left to right: Garry Janzen - MCBC Executive Minister;
Rev. Erwin Cornelsen;

Dan Friesen - Camp's Maintenance Manager;
Helmut Penner - Camp Squeah Board Rep.;
Jake Redekop - Building Project Manager.

Then there was a family wedding on Wally's side of the family. It was nice to see everyone and, of course, once again the food was fabulous. It takes a lot of willpower sticking to a diet plan when you have all these events that present you with so many temptations. :-)

The first dance!

And then, would you believe it, I was off to Winnipeg, once again!
This time for a Committee Meeting. Short and sweet, only 2 nights and I was back.

Leaving from Abbotsford.

The "Committee" from all across Canada.

The following three pictures are from a fundraising event at the end of September that we attended at Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church. I am posting the pictures simply because a friend dared me to do it and you know who you are. (B) It was a group of musicians and singers from Paraguay and actually was quite an entertaining evening. :-)

Of course, every once in a while, I also do things with my children and grandchildren, occasionally babysitting while parents go to work or have doctors appointments. This time I went to watch Anna during her gymnastics class. She is quite the little acrobat! This is a weekly class and little Miss Anna can hardly wait from one week to the next. She loves it! Her group is called Super Beasts! Yup, that's their name. :-)

Sooooooooo........ now you know that I have not just been sitting at my computer all summer long and lamenting the fact that we were not able to go on our yearly road trip.

Circumstances were just different this year. But looking back over these pictures and the many more that I did not post, shows me that we still had a wonderful summer with many blessings from above.
We lost a very important part of the family but are being blessed with a new little one.
Did some things we never did before and missed out on somethings that we had made routine.
All in all, it was still a great summer and it ended way to soon!

What will the Fall bring? Who knows!?!?!?!
Although......, we did do something new that will, hopefully, become routine (I hope!) but that will take a brand new post, so stay tuned!

This one needed to be shared!

And this one, well.... what can I say!
I always have my camera handy when we are on the road.
Simply could not resist!