Home to the FORT

Dean had the week off last week, so we decided to make a trip home... as it has been since March 2010 that we were down to the Fort. Thats NUTZO how fast time flies.

We made a quick stop in Stoon for the weekend and then four days at the Fort. Poor lil gma shultz broke her hip while we were down there, so half of the time, was spent trying to do all we could to make sure gma was well taken care of and looked after. Both Dean and sister Karen were in the emergency with her ..... nice to have some nurses in the fam to help us know what is going on or what the future holds! Gma had half of her hip replaced in surgery on Wednesday last week. She has a hard time remembering for minute to minute. So it is a constant thing to remind her that she had a fall and broke her hip. Its especially hard seeing as she has been on pain meds and doesn't even feel the pain for the most part.  So of course she wouldn't remember!!! :) Anyway, she seems to be doing quite well for a 96 year old.... recovering from surgery... and spry and cherry as ever.  What a dear lil gma we have!!!

Kade Dean Covlin and uncle Dean!!!

 Mom and Dad Sinc have tons of deer coming and going through their yard. They are so pretty.... too bad they make such a mess of their new shrubs and yard....

 The two babies in the fam.... Kade Dean on the left and Daylan Dean on the right!!  We love em both to pieces!!!

 Aunty Donna reading to Daylan and Keonna in between trips to the ski hill and home for lunch!!!

 Kade and Karen

 The fish that Dean and the Cobb boys caught!

Dean couldn't wait to get ice fishing down home. We hadn't done any yet this year.  So pretty much as soon as we got home, he was itchin to get down to the lake.  The old ice shack hadn't been drug out yet because they have had so much snow down at the Fort... that the ice likely wasn't thick enough yet for it to be wheeled out there. So dean bundled up and took the boys too for a few hours. They caught up to 6-7 fish..... a few of them quite small that they released again. We still have the fish in our car 'deep freeze'.... as we hadn't had time to fillet them before leaving home. Maybe we will end up having a fish fry for new year's eve!

Happy Holidays!!!

Today was such a nice day!!! Dean has been working the past three days, so it didn't seem like the normal holidays season being at home with turkey dinner and games, etc. However, we were lucky enough to get some special company we have been waiting to visit for a long time!!! Dean's cousin Tim and his dear wife Carla came to visit. They were on their way home from Cold Lake visiting her sister... so it was nice that we got to at least have a quick visit with them. They arrived last night and stayed for lunch today and travelled the rest of the 6.5 hours home this afternoon!

This morning Tim and Dean went out ice fishing and kite 'boarding' on one of the near by lakes. Tim didn't have his board with him so they made do with a sled. Apparently the wind was just perfect for it so they had a blast! Didn't come home with any fish, which is fine because we still have 6 or 7 still in the trunk of our car waiting to be filleted for consumption. Dean caught them down at the Fort last week.

Carla and I putzed away a good part of the morning getting the turkey dinner ready. It was nice to have some female company to visit with and help while workin in the kitchen. Thanks Carla!!! Can't wait to hear of the arrival of their first bundle of joy!!! She is due on February 7th!!!! They will both make excellent parents!

 Brian and Janelle and girls also joined us four for lunch.

 Some fun winter baking for dessert!!!!

A list of thankfuls....

This weekend I had 5 hours of driving by myself.... and without hubby to chat with... I had a lot of time to think.

For some reason, over the last couple of months, there have been numerous experiences that have made me grateful. They have opened my eyes to help me see why I have every reason to be thankful!

He enjoys much who is thankful for little.

-Thomas Secker

So I am going to try and jot down my list of 'thankfuls' when they come to mind...

1) I am thankful to be married to my best friend, one who i can laugh with, cry with, one who understands me best, and who cares about me no matter what life brings!

2) I am thankful for a roof over our heads and four walls to keep us warm.

3) I am thankful to be living in this country. Even though we get brutal winters, we don't have to put up with frequent hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, monsoons, typhoons, etc. etc. I know there have been times I wished we lived somewhere like Florida, where it was summer all year round. But really, how grateful would I be? We get four seasons every year.... and all of them can be quite beautiful whether we would like to admit it or not!

4) I am thankful to be living in a country of freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to serve, freedom to love, freedom to give.

5) I am thankful for my health. Even though I know I am not the healthiest person in the world and I have so much work to do in this area... I know I can be so thankful that I have my health. I have two eyes to see, two ears to hear, two legs to walk with and two hands to put to use.

You don't realize how much you depend on your health until its gone. I know this might sound lame, but I have been fighting a cold over the past week and Sunday I pretty much completely lost my voice. I was visiting with family and friends, and couldn't have a nice visit at times because I was losing my voice. Its pretty hard to have a one way conversation, or know what a person is thinking if you can commune with them :) I do have to admit, losing your voice is pretty minor.... but can you imagine losing your health? I have an uncle right now who is in hospital who is almost blind. He can still read with the help of special binos/glasses and magnifying tools. And uncle has also been recently diagnosed with Leukemia. We do certainly hope for the best for him as he is currently undergoing extreme chemo treatment in hopes to put the Leukemia into remission. But you never know what life has in store.... 

6) I am thankful for parents who raised us with values that have helped me not only as a child but now as an adult. Values that have helped me put life into perspective. Values that have helped me continue to work on who I want to be, someone of respect, someone that could be looked up to, someone that could be trusted.

7) I am thankful for the opportunity we have been given to start a life we want to have. A life we have more control over naturally, and not letting someone else control it. Controlling where we want to be in life, controlling when we want to work, controlling when we take holidays, controlling where we live, controlling who we are and who we want to be. 

In the market for a new watch???

.......or an excuse just to buy something new and unique?!!!! 

A dear friend of mine has recently started her own business.  Jax in a Box!!!!  Check it out for yourself... she is so creative and loves to do this. You can get your watch as 'custom made' as you want it. Her website is www.jaxinabox.ca

As soon as she told me she was going to start her new business venture, I couldn't wait to be the first on the list to buy her product!!!!  I had it all in my head already what i wanted. And taaaaa daaaaaa..... 

Here is my watch.... and yup, sure am going to get another one this weekend. I need a black and white one to go with the other half of my wardrobe. lol.