Guys. Our new laundry machines are finally here, and I am a very happy lady! Let’s talk about what we did have. A recap.

To be clear – I don’t care that they’re old. Not at all. I care that they WORK! And they don’t.

Our washer was not my favorite thing. It was front load, so I felt like things fell out as I tried to put them in. Not a fan. It also felt really small, though it said it had extra large capacity. Nope nope nope. And it had started to error a lot, where loads spun for literal hours, or it “clogged” and needed to be unplugged. It was fine. But it was frustrating. 

Our dryer was also not my favorite. It was fine, and I liked it longer than I liked the washer. But it had many times where it ran an entire cycle and nothing was dry. It seemed like we could fairly easily replace the element and call it a day, but since it was clearly time to replace the washer, we decided to go for it and replace both.

So we diiiiiiid!! 

No, I didn’t wait to tidy it up to take a picture, haha! And thats ok! They’re pretty no matter what!

Hague Hardware worked with us in finding machines that fit what we were looking for! Even though I think it rubbed the salesman a liiiiittle bit the wrong way, we chose two that were different brands, and slightly different colors. In our minds, they were perfect, and the colors were close enough, but I know it was a tough pill to swallow for the guy helping us, haha! 

Our stipulations were that they needed to be large capacity, both with wifi, and roughly in the same color family. Wifi seems like overkill, I know. Its super handy, though, having the machines in kind of a funny spot in the house, we never hear them. So this way, they will tell my phone when they’re done! Wifi capable dryers are harder to come by, and that is totally fine, but Brady and I both felt it would be extra convenient and helpful to us if we had those notifications from both machines. 

We chose the washer first, and it only came in the dark grey color, so we needed to find a dark grey wifi-capable dryer. That didn’t exist in the same brand, so we ventured out, and found a dark grey wifi-capable dryer. Large capacity machines. I am THRILLED.

Oh the things that make me excited now that I’m an old mom 🤣 But I am very relieved and very grateful to have fresh new machines installed and working, with the old ones hauled away and disposed of. 

We’ve been rocking a pretty strong cold for a while now, and let me tell you. We can hack a LOT of things. Including this cold! But it is losing its charm quickly, haha! We are just that much more bedraggled, and it gets old. 

But alas, here we are. Sore throats and snotty noses galore! 

So the other day, I pulled out the big guns! Hahaha! Grilled cheese and soup!! 

I know, I know. Its supposed to be chicken noodle soup. But I like mushroom soup better! And while I’m a firm believer in eating foods that are especially gentle on our tummies, but since eating is hard when you feel crappy, I’m a firmer believer in eating what we’re hungry for when we’re sick. So we did! 

And it was really nice 💜 Even considering the warm weather, no one bucked the hot soup. It hit the spot for all of us, whether we were sick, healthy, or somewhere in the middle. 

I’m so glad my kids are soup kids now 💜 

We Made It

After an unceremonious exit last weekend, we are all hoping for a more successful weekend, or even a LONG weekend 🤞 I really really hope it works out smoother than the last one! 

Today Cher came over and helped me prep by prepping all the food for the lake, as well as putting some laundry away and a whole lot of other things I can’t even name because I wasn’t there the entire time she was. She is SUCH an incredible help to us. I couldn’t be more grateful 💜 

Veggies were chopped. Meat was sliced. Cheese was sliced. 

A GHOST!!! 

The kids and I were out and about this afternoon, taking a baby to a visit and finishing up last minute errands. Brady went into radiation right as we got home from the city, and I loaded the van while he drove home. The van was just barely loaded with things and people when he drove up. And away we went! It definitely felt whirlwindy today but we got here! 

And it’s beautiful 💜 not too terribly hot, but nice and warm. A great temperature for a fire. For the kids to play and not overheat. For the bugs to get manageable. For the beach tomorrow! For sleeping tonight! It’s going to be a lovely weekend. At least I REALLY hope so! Protect us, Lord!!! 

You know you’ve been at the hospital a little too often when everyone knows who you are.

I know. I don’t blend in well. 😂 The hair is obviously a factor.

I am most often at the children’s hospital with one child, but today I was there with another one. I checked in with someone who knew who we were. I visited with another person who I can’t say I’ve ever met, but who seemed vey familiar with us. Maybe she was just like that 🙂 I am, too. I ended up chatting with a little girl who wanted to tell me about seeing orcas in the outdoor pool that morning until someone came to retrieve me and our lemon drop for our appointment.

And guess what! SHE knew us! She stumbled over the lemon drop’s name and then laughed out loud and told me she knew who I was, but forgot the baby’s name! It was SO funny! Turns out she is good friends with Rae, so while we walked back to the room, we talked a little, and she definitely knew some of our details. It was pretty adorable 💜 Gave me some warm fuzzies.

We were brought into a room with a group of therapists and a doctor, and were quickly joined by a few more professionals. And it was SO fun because at least half of them were familiar! It felt a little strange when the doctor knew me when I didn’t recognize him! 😬 That was unexpected! But of all people, the SLP who follows us for feeding therapy came into the room, and was SO happy to see us! And I was really happy to see her, as I tried to plead our case for something and was feeling some pushback. This person agreed with me! Woohoo!! It goes SUCH a long way to have familiar people in the room!

I got out of there with a couple of prescriptions, a letter for the ministry, and some follow up plans. I felt heard and understood and validated, and the lemon drop is being well tended to in every possible way! I found out after coming home that the prescriptions that need filling need to be filled at the Medicine Shoppe in Martensville, which I’m actually really excited about 🤣 They are some of the COOLEST people over there, and I’ve been missing them since no one has needed a compounded prescription recently! So it’ll be fun to see them again 🤣

This stuff is kind of weird, I know, but its really our real life stuff these days and I ache to share more about all the things we go through and learn about. And the babies we LOVE 😍 Goodness its hard not to share them on here! I wish I could tell you all the successes with social workers, birth parents, family supports, etc etc etc. God is covering these children, it is blatantly clear, and today specifically, it was REALLY evident.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting these babies!!!

My birthday yesterday was actually a lot of fun. I truly expected the day to kind of skirt on by and to eat a nice supper with my family. The end. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of love showered down in the form of words, gifts, food, time spent and effort made 💜 Goodness, I am SO blessed.

With yesterday being a nice low key kind of day, today needed to be a bit more productive. But I had accomplices.

Me, Andy Bernard, and Beard Guy hit the ground running! While the babies slept in, the other kids went outside for a bit, and I made some plans for the day. I had a few things bothering me that needed doing, but there were parts of them that I needed my bedroom for. And that’s super challenging when you can only really work when the babies are asleep, and when two of them sleep in your room. *sigh*

The kids were done outside a lot sooner than I would’ve expected or preferred, so some of them became my helpers 😂 And while they helped me, we got some stuff cleaned up that’s been staring at me for a while! And when the babies woke up for the day, some of my kids hung with them while they had their breakfast so I could do some of the work in my room!!! Woohoo!! I dug through some big parcels from Amazon and dispersed things where they needed to go. Christmas gifts got boxed back up. School supplies got added to the huge box, waiting for the final items to arrive. Baby shoes went into the cubbies in the garage. And some current household items got set up in their homes. This was my favorite new setup 😍

Now, the water bottles and travel mugs won’t be pre-moistened by the Morsel for us! 🤣🤤

Its been an altogether productive but not chaotic day. I feel pretty good about it. I’m hopeful that we can do a bit more once Brady is home. After radiation. If he’s up for it. And the kids aren’t nuts. Lol! Lots of factors, I suppose! We’ll have to see. Maybe we’ll *gasp* rest!!!

Today Hailey turns thirty six years old. Thirty six years this girl, this lady, this beautiful creature has walked on this planet sharing her charm, loyalty, and love. 

Beautiful Hailey,

You hear me say all the time that psychologists profess if a friendship lasts longer than seven years, it will last forever. Forever feels short to be honest. I wish I could slow time down. I am starting to understand why ageing isn’t your favourite thing. This last year went by faster than I expected. But wow, did you make this last year count.

You are consistently looking for the most efficient way to do things and get things done. From learning to bake for your family, to moving to an accessible home, to the fridges and freezers you purchased. You want everyone to have ease and access to everything they need. You are always on the go for everyone except yourself.

Emergencies, hospital stays, surgeries, scheduling, soothing fevers, wiping butts, taking hits, medical challenges, losing sleep, financial setbacks, daunting paperwork, accepting, protecting, loving….. Heartbreaks. You are always up for being down. Even if you’re not. There you are, endlessly, for those you love. 

If I wrote this blog about anyone else, I would be giving lip service. With you, I don’t think I can describe the level of love and devotion you have for the people in your life because it surpasses my level of understanding. You love like Jesus, and it is astonishing that he chose someone so precious to be my best friend. 

I could fall to my knees trying to express how thankful I am to God for your irrevocable love and support. You have changed my outlook on life and strengthened parts of me that I thought were permanently lost. It is your relationship with God (and stubborn loyalty) that has drawn me in and picked me up when I was barely hanging on. 

It feels amazing to love someone like you.

Happy Birthday, beautiful Hailey. 

Chairiss (Cher)

Brady is four weeks down and two to go for radiation! ☢️ Today marked treatment 20/30! Thats a good long stretch!

Not a ton has changed in the way Brady feels. His attitude remains strong and well, while he legs feel a little bit less than way 😬 He gets the occasional headache which is managed with basic pain killers, and that works for now. If it becomes a consistent issue, it suggests the brain is experiencing some trauma and is a bit too swollen. Which is actually not some big concern, and can be treated with a steroid until treatment is over. Brady hates the steroid they default to, however, and he’ll do just about anything he can to not have to be on it. So for now, its managed, and thats working.

The biggest change in the last week has been his hair. Brady grew a little bald spot a while ago, and its started to become a bit more noticeable. He more so was bothered by the patchy look than the fact that was losing hair. So he started wearing a hat, which was logical but also, logically, started aiding the hair loss.

We talked about the plan to shave it all down a bit closer. When I went to touch it a little and see how sturdy his hair was, it just came out in pieces. It pulled out so easily. That spot was only going to get bigger and bigger.

Sooooo we buzzed it down aaaaall the way. The spot still visible, but much more subtle in terms of the bald stop, and Brady is so much happier.

So maybe you can tell from the picture, but right where the tumour was is the most prominent patch. It is thinning in a line towards the back of his head, where there is another balder chunk of scalp.

Absolutely NO good looks have been lost, I can confirm that! 😍

People we know who work in medicine, or specifically in the cancer centre, have commented a number of times how Brady does not look like a guy with grade four brain cancer, and we have to agree! While things are not picture perfect by any means, Brady continues to carry God’s strength and keep worries off of his heart 💜

Four down. Two to God. Lord protect our family.

Last night, many things fell apart and our family packed up late in the night and headed home. It was a hard and also correct choice. It had been quite a beautiful day, it was hard to head home so unceremoniously. But sometimes, things are difficult, and thats ok.

Everyone slept in good and proper, and Brady and I have had more than our share of coffee. It has been a strange day, as we’re not usually home on Sunday mornings anymore. There was NO way we were going to church, we were all total messes from camping. Plus EXHAUSTED. We were greeted with the rare opportunity to have some time to get some jobs done at home. But again – exhausted. Like, SO exhausted. The babies struggled pretty hard. All three have colds, as do I. One is still sleeping from the night! Kids have unpacked their bags from camp and one kid has set their laundry going. Most of the kdis took baths. I finally got my butt up, hands washed, and headed into the kitchen to bake, as we are virtually out of any and all breakfast or lunch baking. And while baking isn’t a priority for many people, justifiably so, but for our kids, it helps their bodies poop!! Heyooo! So, we do it consistently.

I started pulling out ingredients, and within thirty seconds, I had a sidekick. Laela. When I inquired if she was coming to help me, she looked surprised and said “Of course I am!” So we got into it. We worked together for the first batch, and we discussed everything we were doing. And then, she took the reins on the second big batch and I just stepped in here and there, moving clutter away from her, putting ingredients away, giving her little tips about the mixer, etc. And when it came to scooping the muffins, she was in it! I actually went and sat with a coffee.

I got up to help her take the paddles and bowl scraper off, and she completed the job. I assured her I will be her oven lady for a while, so I’ll put them in for her when the oven is free, but otherwise, that gig was all HER. She killed it.

Since I sat down to type this, Dekker got up and willingly headed out to mow, even though he was practically stumbling through the house earlier. Goodness we are one tired bunch. But the things that NEED doing are getting done, and we will all do some resting while we’re at it.

Tomorrow is another day 💜 Thank you, Lord.

Remember that summer blanket I mentioned I got from Value Village the other day? This one? 

Well as I sat by the fire at the lake today, grateful for the ban to have lifted thanks to the cold, damp weather, I pulled out this blanket to snuggle with in my lawn chair. 

I caught a random glance of the seaming and noticed some designs that weren’t as straight or even as the others. And I realized something SO BEAUTIFUL!!! 

1978

To Shirley

From Mother

😍 Isn’t it amazing?? The date on it makes me think it’s possible Shirley passed? Or maybe she didn’t. I really don’t know, but I care! I love that I have it 💜 Sometimes, I love to peruse the aisles for homemade things that shouldn’t have been donated. So in this case, it feels like an honour to have it in my possession 🥰 

We’re back at camp and the wind is notable! It feels VERY much like fall. 

While it is definitely too early to give up on summer heat, at least in my opinion, the weather today does not disappoint. 

The smoke, however, it still tough. My little morsel doesn’t fair well in the lung and respiratory department, so little is easy for that one these days. But! Along we plod, still grateful for all the gifts we’ve been given. We cannot complain that not EVERYTHING comes with ease. That’s life for absolutely everyone! And we thank the Lord for providing absolutely everything we need, so very much of what we want, and an abundance of things we haven’t even thought to ask for 💜