May June 2009

It's been awhile since I have made an entry to my blog so it may appear somewhat discombobbled (new word !!)

This spring has gone by quickly for us. We have had many family events as we always do and that has been great.

Dad has finished his last chemo as of last Friday but that has certainly taken it's toll on him. He suffered a bit of a setback with his blood counts and has been in hospital since last Tuesday. This journey our family is on with cancer/chemo is quite the rollercoaster. You think of many things as you travel down this road. I often wonder how families do it without any faith. Last night as our family celebrated Mom & Dad's 56th wedding anniversary in the hospital room, a friend came by just to spend time with Dad & Mom. He has recently lost his wife to cancer and I was deeply touched to see his strong faith, his strength and his genuine love and caring. He has walked this road and his faith is what carries him day to day. I was encouraged in my faith journey and am constantly amazed at the people God brings into my life that do just that: encourage, give hope, share love, share tears, etc. As we experience life wherever we are, may we take time to spend time with those that come across our paths, may we share ourselves just a little bit more but more importantly share of what Jesus means to us and how that affects us every day of our life.

Following are some pics of family times over the past few months.



Jessica's graduation from the PDP Program



Fraser Valley Sympthony 25th Anniversary Concert.....find Ruth!! (sorry it's a bit blurry but she IS there !!)



Whister Day trip - stopped at Furry Creek for brunch !!



Jess & William in Whistler



Dan & I sipping our coffee in Whistler



Celebrating Mom & Dad's 56th wedding anniversary in the hospital



Family celebrating Mom & Dad's Anniversary with a little Grand Marnier Creme Brulee....yummy !!!

Aunt's Visit

Make a Smilebox postcard

Jess' 25th & An Afternoon @ Harrison

I thought I would shock you all and actually have two posts fairly close to each other. Last night we had a wonderful family and friends 25th birthday party for Jess. It was so much fun !! William's parents, Anna & Desmond came with his sister Christi. It was a great evening for everyone to get to know each other and start building relationships. I decided to try a new pork dish and enjoyed making Pancetta Wrapped Apple Stuffed Pork. It was very tasty and I'm glad it worked out. I used Jenn's meat strappy things she gave me for Christmas to hold it all together and it worked very well (thanks, Jenn...great gift!) Also tried a new pasta dish that had goat cheese, asparagus, fresh basil, parmesan and sun dried tomatoes. Very tasty indeed! Family members brought delicious salads and the jello salad was actually made by Jeff (nephew) who was very proud to be able to contribute!! (now we know what he can do!) I'm still recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction a week ago so today (Sunday) Dan and I went to Harrison Hot Springs for the afternoon just to do a mini road trip. It was a beautiful day and I've included a few pics from that afternoon. We had a light lunch in a small cafe and then walked around the lagoon, sat on the sand and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I was thinking of Jenn & Dan and thinkin' they would really have loved being there as well (heheh) Here's some pics !


Jess & William enjoying the birthday dinner



Anna & Desmond Dos Santos at the buffet



Jessica blowing out a delicious Grand Marnier Cake made by Grandma



Pic overlooking Harrison Lake



Beautiful day at Harrison



Lots of snow on those mountains

KAUAI - FEB 2009

We recently took a trip to Kauai, Hawaii and had a wonderful time. We left from Seattle and arrived in Honolulu for a short time before we took an island hopper to Kauai. It is called the "Garden Island" as it receives approximately 450 inches (yes, that is inches) of rain a year. The interior of the island has a 3000 foot canyon which is called the 'other' Grand Canyon. It is simply spectacular. We went to a coffee plantation, enjoyed checking out different beaches, hiked the Na Pali coast, went on a 5/2 hour catamaran excursion and just went all over the island just to experience it and not miss a thing. Here's a few pics of that great trip ! Enjoy!

A beautiful pic of the Na Pali Coast

Awesome Waimea Canyon

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Hiking the Na Pali Coast

Surf at the end of our 2 mile hike

Dinner at Hanalei Dolphins

I hope you enjoy our little trip to Hawaii as much as we did !!