Baby Broersma

Diana has not had her baby yet. Please keep her, Mike and Hadassah in your prayers as they continue to wait on the little one and also as they are moving into a new house this week.

Babysitting Elyssa

I babysat Elyssa last night. She'll be 8 months old next week. She has 6 teeth, can sit and inch forward but isn't quite crawling yet. She loves being in the bathtub, playing peek-a-boo and making kissy noises with her mouth. We had lots of fun!

Maybe too much fun! I guess I tuckered her out. She fell over reaching for a toy and was quite content on her belly. Then I started rubbing her feet and she was out like a light.

Isn't her outfit cute?!!

Awww ... so sweet!

Update on the Garden

Lovely Evening Primrose.

New Guinea Impatiens, Spyrea, "Big" Seedum, Serviceberry bush.
My handsome, smart, wonderful, loving husband.
Rhubarb ... the second round.

I harvested 3 cups worth last night and made wonderful rhubarb muffins.

Rose bush ... with no roses. We really pruned it back in the spring so I'm not sure if it's going to flower this year. Along with our lilies and daylilies. I'm not sure they liked the transplant so much.

I'm not sure what this is ... but it looks like weed ... no, not weeds ... WEED. Get it. I got it from the Schriemers. hmmmm .... The small stuff near the front looks similar but it's the lovage plant which can be used as seasoning similar to Maggi. It's growing like crazy!

What a weekend!

Ok, so that was one of the most busy weekends we've had in a long time. And I think the most driving we've done in a long time. From 7pm Thursday to 9pm Sunday, we drove a total of 1500 kms!!! On Thursday night we dropped by the Wedgewood and took some pictures. It is a retirement residence that Reuben's firm designed. It was pretty nice! I would retire there, if I had a choice. And if I was at the retiring age:) We decided to stay in Brockville for dinner at the Brockberry Cafe. It was really scrumptious! I had a schrimp crepe with a bowl of swiss mushroom soup.

And Reuben had the New Zealand rack of lamb.

After this, we headed on to Napanee where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn. It was really nice. The bathroom decor was really modern. Only trouble was that I wanted a bath after a long day and they only had a shower stall. I guess most people don't take baths at hotels so they thought this was a better option.

On Friday morning, we headed on to Reuben's parents place and then quickly got ready for a wedding. Andre Schutten and Karyn Vandooren. The wedding was beautiful. Especially the music for the signing. It was "The Lord's Prayer" by Malotte. Two professional singers sang it and it was so beautiful, it moved us all to tears.

The bride and her father.My sister-in-law, Karin and I.

On Saturday, Reuben and I drove up to Midland for the funeral of my cousin, Ryan. Ryan died tragically in an accident. He was only 27 years old. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to get to know him too well. I was thankful we had the chance to be at the funeral for the sake of my aunt and uncle and other family. It was a 2 hr drive up to Midland. Afterwards, we drove Diana and Mike back to their place, where we stayed for the night. On the drive, we stopped in at the Creemore Springs brewery. Cute little place.

My sister and Mike. She is due in 4 days. Come, baby, come!!That night we went to the house of one of Reuben's friends from college. Him and his wife and daughter live in Fergus. Another friend of their's and his fiancee were there, as well. It was neat getting to know them better and Reuben had a great time reminiscing with his friends.

On Sunday morning we finally got to see our niece. Here are all the lovely pictures of Hadassah that we took. She is walking and saying "mommy, daddy, ossie (for their cat, Oscar)" and she can put shaped blocks in their correct holes. She's a smart little cookie!! And soooo adorable.

Father's Day etc

This past weekend was interesting. Reuben went to Nova Scotia ... by car ....for the weekend. He's crazy but I wish I could've gone. He went with his friend, Andrew, who had a wedding to attend. Reuben has an aunt and uncle and cousins in Halifax, so he got to visit with them. I have only had one teeny tiny phone msg from him so I have no idea how things are going but at least I know he's still alive. I worry.
It's been far too quiet in our house. I am hoping he'll be home tonight before midnight but I have no guarantees so I will wait. I'm just glad Evelyn didn't call me last night. If she goes into labour in the middle of the night we've agreed to run over and watch the kids for them. I was so worried it would happen last night that I couldn't fall asleep. Silly me!
I planted New Guinea Impatiens and some other purple flowers in our garden to brighten things up. They look great! But I don't have pictures. You'll have to stop by to see them. Gardening is good exercise!
Yesterday was Father's Day. Here are some pictures.

We got him a GPS for the car.

Elyssa (7 months old)

Before and After

Finally, I've managed to snap a picture of our finished bathroom. Here's the before ... well, after we'd started a bit of construction but you can see the horrible bottom paint color, the awful sink and horrendous taps. And here's the "new" bathroom .... TADA....

Barcelona

I met up with an acquantaince yesterday. One of my dad's students that showed us around Barcelona one year and 5 days ago. Now I'm daydreaming about Barcelona. About Montserrat, Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, tapas, Santa Maria del Mar, windy tour buses, Gaudi and two of my favourite anglo-spanish words ....

Siesta and Sangria.

Lesson Learned

It is far better to give than to receive.

Ideas for our lamppost flowerbed

Clockwise from top-left: creeping rose bush, spirea, miscanthus(ornamental grass), baby's breath and perennial geranium.