Selfless

I have an old friend, well she's not old, but she's been a friend for a long time, and I haven't seen her in ages. Today I finally went to visit. I knew this friend is collecting items for the homeless; she takes donations as well as buys items herself. The items are put into backpacks then given out to those in need; the homeless people who have no place to go and obvobviously have no source of income. Tonight I saw what she all puts in these packs; toques, wool socks, underwear, toiletries, as well as other items fill these packs to the point of almost overflowing. My friend also has a stack of blankets, a hotel who gets rid of bedding donates their old blankets to this cause.

 I asked her how long she has been doing this for, this is her 3rd year and I heard what prompted her to begin this act of selflessness. It's her story to tell, but I say hats off to you Rika for doing all you can to help those in need! Not only does she give her time and energies, she gives up her personal space in her home where she collects the items and assembles the backpacks.

 Good on ya Rika, God bless your selfless generous heart. 
There's a site on facebook, if you would like to learn more about what this
lady does you can check it out here. 

All In A Day

I missed my blog yesterday, it was a busy day for me. I was up at 5am to go 
and help with a catering job with my old boss who is now a dear friend. 
We fed about 85 people a full Christmas lunch; turkey, ham, potatoes, 
veggies, two salads, all the fixin's as well as desert. The meal turned 
out wonderful, nobody left hungry and there were tons of compliments 
from those we fed. 

 After the job was all said and done I visited for a bit, then went to an 
info session at my university; they were offering information on the 
Masters program and I'm definitely interested. Why not? I've come this 
far, I might as well take this education to the next level if all goes well.

After the info session I went to the hospital to visit with Austin. 

Here's the latest update on Awesome Austin which was posted by my 

niece on the Prayers for Austin site on facebook ...

"So when I came back from RMH I found quite a different little boy. He had a nap and then went to physio while I was gone and did some bike riding!! He also went to play at the Beach. Doctors have started weaning his Milrinone. They monitored his vitals every 15 mins at first and then every hour but he appears to be stable . He had a fever for awhile but temp is back to normal now. There is talk that Austin is supposed to start school in the hospital on Monday already! I thank God for the progress and pray that it continues! I am believing for full and complete recovery and health!"

This is Austin finally getting a bit of sleep last night, his sleeps have

been restless and he wakes up often...

It was a busy day for me as I mentioned, but it was a productive day. 

To watch Austin sleep and to visit with my niece and her husband was 

the perfect way to end my busy day. Thank you to those of you who

 continue to pray and/or send positive thoughts to our little Iron Man, 

he truly is a remarkable young man.

Dress It Up or Dress It Down

I was out shopping today and didn't mean to buy new clothes, 
but I ended up in a ladies store just the same. 
There was a fantastic sale... k that's enough of the justification!

 I found a perfect jacket...

I thought why not? I can dress it up...

combine this with black slacks and I'm good for an evening out.

Or I can throw this on with jeans and dress it down...

Yup, I feel good about this purchase, especially when it was

buy two get one free! 

Perogies

Yesterday I went over to my oldest son's place on a mission, it was our annual 
perogie making day and did we ever make a ton of them! We made potatoe 
and cheddar, sauerkraut with bacon as well as mushroom perogies. 
A wild guess would be we made about 15 dozen or so
(just bagged and tallied up how many we made, it was
 approximately 27 dozen!). Naturally we had a taste 
for dinner and they were scrumptious. I went over tonight so we 
could bag them up and they weren't quite frozen yet, so
 I brought them home and I'll do this tomorrow.

Yup... another job well done Shayne, Sandy, Derek, Michelle and Elyssa!

Happy Birthday Christine

Today is my niece's birthday, she's the mother of my great nephew 

who has been through immense health issues over the course of 

this past few weeks. These are her words from facebook:
"Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!
It's been a hard day but there is still much to be thankful for." 

Throughout this journey there's times which are extremely challenging,
 there's moments of sadness and tears, there's laughter and struggles, 
as well as moments of sheer pride, but the one thing which stands 
well above all else is the love and faith which is shared. 

This is sent out to Christine, her husband Ian

 and their family:

THE GIFT OF AN ANGEL BY YOUR SIDE.

May you always have an angel by your side. 
 Watching out for you in all the things you do.
 Reminding you to keep believing in brighter days. 
 Finding ways for your wishes and dreams to come true. 
 Giving you hope that is as certain as the sun. 
 Giving you the strength of serenity as your guide. 
 May you always have love and comfort and courage.

And may you always have an angel by your side. 

 Someone there to catch you if you fall. 
 Encouraging your dreams. 
 Inspiring your happiness.
 Holding your hand and helping you through it all. 
 In all of our days, our lives are always changing. 
 Tears come along as well as smiles. 
 Along the roads you travel, may the miles be a 
thousand times more lovely than lonely.
 May they give you gifts that never, ever end: 
someone wonderful to love and a dear 
friend in whom you can confide. 
 May you have rainbows after every storm.
May you have hopes to keep you safe and warm.

And may you always have an angel by your side. 
          Douglas Pagels.

Happy Birthday Christine. 

Festival of Trees

This morning I went with my oldest son, his wife and Elyssa to a 

quaint Festival of Trees, we went to a neighboring community 

not far from the city. The festival was a fantastic family event;

 there were decorated trees to view...

(This was my favorite, I think because it's decorated with 

homemade decorations made by children)

Wreaths as well, again this was one of my favorites...

They had crafts for the children, Elyssa made a bracelet...

And they had entertainment. Elyssa was in awe of the instruments, this was the

first thing she wanted to do, sit and listen...

I was amazed at how intently Elyssa listened and watched,

 they were playing classical music. 

I asked Sandy if she listened to classical music when she was pregnant

with Elyssa, she did and fairly often she said. I wonder if this could be a part 

of why Elyssa was drawn to the music, either way I'm glad she is! 

Who knows, Elyssa just may be musically inclined. 

It was a fun way to spend a few hours, thanks Shayne and Sandy for the invite! 

Awesome Austin Update

Austin is doing amazingly well, he was moved out of ICU last night to
 the children's ward. Today when I was in for a visit he was sitting up 
and eating. This is truly a miracle, 6 short days after major surgery on 
his heart he's doing so well. 

There's a site on facebook called Prayers for Austin, I got to thinking that
 it would be nice if he could see where all the people are from who 
are praying for him so I went out and purchased a world map and
 I mapped it all out for him with happy heart stickers. 

There's people the world over praying and sending words of love, encouragement
 and support and it is immensely appreciated. 

Austin was a tired young man today, he didn't sleep much last night,
 his Mom said about 2 hours, and he was up all day today.
 When I gave him his map and explained it to him he smiled 
and whispered a thank you. 

I explained to Austin that I couldn't put a happy heart sticker 
for everyone who is praying for him, if I did that the entire map
 would be covered! The map now hangs on his wall in a place he chose;
 he can see it when he wakes up first thing in the morning and it can 
be the last thing he sees in the evening before he drifts off to sleep. 

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and words of encouragement;
 they are being heard and now seen by Awesome Austin! :-) 

Lenny's Detailing

Today I took my car in for detailing to a place I've never been to before 
and was I ever impressed. I arrived at 8:50am and was pulling in as 
the owner Lenny called me, we were chatting and I told him I was
 right outside, how about I come in and we continue our conversation,
 so that we did. Lenny is personable, friendly and offered 
me a ride home, I graciously accepted. 

When my car was close to being done Lenny texted me to see if I'd 
like a ride to come and pick up my car, now how many business owners 
do you know who'll give you that kind of service? My son was 
already on the way though so I thanked him and declined the ride. 
I was so impressed with the service I had to take down a dozen 
chocolate chip cookies I made yesterday! :-) 

I arrived a bit early so in I went and I sat and watched a bit of a 
documentary with Lenny, we chatted and he made me a 
delicious cup of tea. When I seen the work which was done to 
my car I was extremely impressed! 

My car looked like a new car, it was that clean! 

 I'm totally wowed!

I can tell you without a doubt that I will return to Lenny's Detailing; this 
has to be the best service I've ever received, that and my car was 
impeccably clean. I drove away one happy customer; finally
a big city company with a small town attitude!

Creativity

Today I stayed home most of the day and accomplished a few things. I've been trying to get to putting together a photo album of Elyssa as a Christmas gift, I've decided instead of rushing this now I'm going to make it for her birthday in May. This way it'll give me more time to work on it and I'll get it just the way I have it pictured in my head. I did however decide to make her a calendar and almost have it ready to order.

 It felt good to sit down and do some creative work, I also finally got

around to editing a few of my convocation photos. As I was editing this photo

I got to thinking...I walked up to the front of the stage, had one photo

taken, walked across the stage and shook hands with three complete 

strangers, and came home with a piece of paper and an alumni pin... 5 years

of eduction for this, you do the math! lol 

(I am on the right hand side)

I am blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support, 

these are my children, my daughter-in-law and anybody who follows my blog

will know the little princess is my beautiful granddaughter.  

Calm Down Already

I was out running errands and shopping today and the malls, as usual, 

are all geared up for the Christmas season. The decorations are out...

Giant trees are up and decorated...

And this is how I felt...

('borrowed' from facebook)

With all that's been going on, our precious little Iron Man getting so ill

and needing heart surgery, it's tough to get in the spirit of Christmas

just yet. However, Austin continues to improve, he's a trooper and such

a sweet, precious child. Even though he's so ill he still minds his manners

with the nurses and doctors. The breathing tube has been removed 

and he continues to grow stronger. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Life

Life is so precious, it is a gift and I've found in the past that too often 
I took so much for granted; things like having a shower, eating, 
breathing, driving, running, conversing, and all of the "normal" things
 most of us do everyday without even a second thought. 
Today I no longer take for granted nearly as much as I once did. 
Seven years ago I had a very near brush with death, and now
 seeing my nephew in the hospital with tubes coming 
out of him every which way makes me realize 
just how precious life is. Today I was not going to attend a workshop 
I'd signed up for about 6 weeks ago, until I realized that I needed 
to do something for myself today. I went and I'm sure glad I did.
 I was led back to where I worked for a few months in my 
second practicum, out in the country at Poundmakers Lodge. 
This is just outside of the city and seeing the snow covered trees,
 hearing the crunch underneath my mukluks and 
being able to smudge this morning was just what I needed, 
tonight I'm grateful for all I'm blessed with, winter and all. 

I'd like to thank each one of you who has offered words of support, 
prayers and/or sent positive energies this way. 
Austin still has the breathing tube in, hopefully this will 
change tomorrow; his liver is functioning quite well now,
 overall the doctors are extremely impressed with how well he is doing. 
Thank you everyone and I'll be by one of these days hopefully 
soon to catch up on how all of you are doing and what's new in your lives. 

Iron Man Update

Our little Iron Man underwent surgery today; the doctors did not want to delay it any longer for various reasons and scheduled Austin for 9am this morning, he was taken down to the OR at 9:30. The medical team led by one of the best (if not the best) surgeons in the world in VAD surgery  preformed the operation. 

"A ventricular assist device (VAD), is a mechanical circulatory device that is used to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart. Some VADs are intended for short term use, typically for patients recovering from heart atacks or heart surgery, while others are intended for long term use (months to years and in some cases for life), typically for patients suffering from congestive heart failure."

The procedure took approximately 6 hours and it was a long six hours. Austin had a room full of family and friends waiting and when they brought him back to the ward, as hard as it was to see him like we did, we were all relieved to see him after his surgery.

 Austin is a remarkable young man, he's now on a heart transplant list, and what we need now for our little man is a miracle. There have been a few cases where people have not required the transplant after this type of surgery, sometimes the heart will correct itself. Sure it'll take a miracle, but I believe in miracles and I won't stop praying for our brave little Iron Man. 

I like what my youngest sister said, instead of Austin we're going to change his name to Awesome, cause he sure is! 

Iron Man

Austin didn't have surgery yesterday, his mother (my niece) 

updated the facebook site and these are her words:  

"So we just finished rounds and got some very positive news. They aren't going to do surgery today because Austin's ascites looks better, lungs look better, perfusion better, kidney function better, liver function better - one of the residents said he is improving on multiple fronts. He will have an MRI today to look at the heart to see if doctors can tell if this is viral or structural. The doctor said this could be one of the rare cases that gets better on its own. He is still a sick little boy and is on lots of meds but he seems to be responding to them. Docs also cautioned us against getting too excited because we may still have to go down the transplant road. I am rejoicing about the good news for today though."

They did the MRI yesterday afternoon, now today they should have the results on this and take it from there. What I thought was so wonderful is the way the doctor explained to Austin that he might be like Iron Man with his new artificial heart if the surgery is needed. 

My youngest sister found a few Iron Man action toys as well as a few Iron Man videos, I found an Iron Man watch and Austin apparently LOVES them! How cool is that to think that you could be just like an action hero? 

As well as Austin is doing and holding up, he's my little hero!

 I'm not sure how old Austin is in this photo, 

I love this and 'borrowed' it off of my sisters site. 

Please keep the prayers alive and/or sending positive energies this way, 

we really could use a miracle for our little Iron Man.

Prayers for Austin

Austin is a sweet, precious, adorable young man, he's 8 years old and he is my great nephew. It is so sad, heartbreaking, that this young man has to go through open heart surgery today. Austin was a healthy young man, he enjoyed his karate immensely, he was active and in good health; until a few weeks ago. Life changed for Austin and his family, Austin became very ill, the doctors in the small town he is from couldn't figure out what was going on so they rushed him to the Stollery Children's hospital in Edmonton where there are some amazing specialists. 

Currently Austin has acute liver failure, his kidneys are shutting down and he's been in congestive heart failure for some time now. The specialists are going to do some life saving surgery today, it was to be tomorrow but they've bumped it up a day. It's complicated surgery, we are all praying that he doesn't go into cardiac arrest. 

Please keep this adorable young man in your prayers, if you're not a praying person, please send tons of positive energies his way. If you have a few minutes to spare please stop by this site on facebook to support the family with encouraging words. 

This was taken last Christmas, Austin loves mini anything and

my sister found him all of these minis.

What we need is a huge miracle on this end and I believe in miracles,

God has blessed and touched my life in so many ways

I can't even begin to express the gratitude I have for all

who were there for me, who prayed for me and for the

specialists at the same hospital Austin is in, they were a

huge part of saving my life 7 years ago. 

I'll get back to my regular blogging in time, for now I want to go and be with

my family in a time of need. The grad photos can wait, as can other posts, 

if time permits I'll update Austin's condition from time to time until

we're through this and Austin is on the road to recovery. 

Class of 2012

Today was convocation and I'm beat tonight. I'll post one of my favorite 
photos from today and tomorrow I'll post a few more. 
Today was an amazing day, this photo was a wonderful moment 
in time to share with my granddaughter Elyssa! 

Rustic Yet Elegant

Today was one of the most relaxed days I've had in quite some time. 
I did nothing much this morning, stayed in my housecoat and caught 
up to most of my blogger friends, then this afternoon I went to 
the steam room and for a massage. Tonight I went out for dinner 
and now I'm about to call it a night as I want to 
be well rested for my big day tomorrow. 

While I was relaxing this morning I went out to the patio and snapped a few shots...

To wake up to this is waking up to God by your side. 

The mountains have this way of making me feel small, they humble me 

and I become overwhelmed with gratitude for all I am blessed with. 

"How Great Thou Art" 

I have also been on a quest this past few days; this condo we've rented comes with 

everything we needed to cook and eat in our suite if we so chose to

and we choose to dine in this past few evenings which was fantastic! 

The quest I'm on is trying to find the pattern, or maker, of this flatware, 

I absolutely love it! However, I haven't been able to find this online 

so please if anyoneknows what this pattern is please share.

Rustic, yet elegant. 

Lovin' the Mountains

Canmore is such a beautiful town, nestled in the majestic mountains,

 this is a glimpse down mainstreet...

Living here would be like living in a postcard! 

I found a big girls chair as well, too funny! 

 This is such a beautiful, relaxing way to spend time...

I love being with my children and granddaughter with our

biggest goal being to relax and enjoy ourselves, that which I sure am!

Canmore

I have no idea what happened to my post for tonight, I just spent about 15 minutes drafting it and poof, it's disappeared. Oh well such is life, now you get the short and sweet version, sort of. :-) 

My son had a brilliant idea about a week ago, he suggested that those of us

who could, come to Canmore for a few nights, take a trip and drive back to 

Calgary on Tuesday for my convocation. I was in for that in a heartbeat; 

 my daughter, my oldest son, Sandy his wife and my sweetheart 

Elyssa are all here in the mountains for a few nights. I didn't get out

with my Canon today to take photos, however I did capture a few shots on

my phone on the way in to Canmore. 

I love the mountains and the fresh mountain air, even if it's on

the cool side, hopefully tomorrow I'll get out and about with my 

Canon, if it's not too cold that is. 

We rented a two bedroom condo and it's stunning, it really

is home away from home... and then some! 

And this precious smile speaks volumes, I think we all feel this way! 

I can feel a wonderful long weekend coming on! Today has already been an

amazing day and tomorrow, well I'm not too sure what it's going to bring, 

I just know whatever it is I'll love it, after all we're in the mountains! 

Playing

I was out for a bit today and found some cute candle holders

 with some of my favorite words on them...

Tonight as I was getting ready to post my photo

I decided to play around for a bit in Smart Editor

and this is what I came up with...

I find it fascinating what we can do with

photos today, I could sit here for hours on end

and mess around with this program. I'm 

learning what I can do through trial

and error, sometimes I find that's the best

way to learn. 

Dreaming

Yesterday our roads were dry, bone dry. 

This morning I woke up, looked outside, 

closed the drapes back up and retreated to my computer...

 this is what I woke up to. 

We got it good and I knew sooner or later I'd have to come 

out of my retreat and shovel my walks. It was shortly

after lunch when I decided it was now or never. I bundled up, 

put on my winter parka, a scarf, gloves, my hat, grabbed my shovel,

and off to work I went. What generally takes me about half

an hour, took me an hour and a half and the snow was

heavy, so heavy I warmed up quickly 
so I lost the scarf and took off my hat.

The snow continued throughout the day,

the city was crawling along and places were even 
shutting down early. I'd heard it took people 
2 hours to do a half hour drive. 
The entire time I shoveled I was dreaming, 
dreaming of warm sunshiny beaches...

I miss Australia! 

This Bag Is Green

I know some might say it's too early to start baking for Christmas, I am going to agree to disagree with those who think this. Next week after I return home from Calgary I'm going to go full on and start my baking. Our family Christmas party is on December 1st, we do it early every year so most of the family can make it to this yearly event and still have their own family Christmas. 

For the party I'm going to bring a few trays of homemade goodies, so nope, it's not too early to start baking.  My bag which claims it's green (it looks black to me) is full of ingredients to keep me busy for a few days of baking... let the good times roll!

Vista Print

Last week I ordered some new business cards, return address labels, my Christmas cards and a calendar as a Christmas gift, I ordered these from a vistaprint.ca Not only was the service fantastic, I'm extremely pleased with the printing.

This is one page from the calendar...

... since I was having trouble deciding which month

 to post here's one more...

This is the perfect gift for someone who has everything

and if you plan your calendar right then they won't forget your birthday.

If you note the cake on the 26th of this month, yup that's my 

birthday and not so subtle reminder!  ;-)