Wordless Wednesday

A Disaster Turned Into Something Beautiful!

Back in July we had a bit of a 'situation' on our yard. 

I was in the house working when out of the blue our electricity went out. 

I found this kind of strange, since there was no storm or threat of one.

Since there was nothing to do inside, I ventured outside.

That is when I heard a weird hissing sound. Kind of like when you let the air out of a balloon.

Megan heard it too and we went to investigate.

This is when we realized that the sound was coming from the transformer on our pole (the gray thing on top of this pole).

Obviously this was going to be more than just the electricity blinking out, so I called Manitoba Hydro and reported what was happening. The guy called me back and I told him what we heard coming from the transformer. He told me that he would get someone out to look at it. After I hung up from talking to him, we started to hear popping sounds coming from the transformer. Like really loud popping sounds. It was then that I told the kids to stay away from the pole because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Every time it would pop, the ground would shake and oil would spray out of the transformer. Finally after what seemed a long time of this thing popping, the lid blew right off the top of it, sending a ball of fire and spraying oil everywhere, on the tree, on the rose bushes, all over the grass.  I was in the house at the time and could hear it....it was LOUD! Of course kids came running from everywhere, wondering what had just happened. We were very grateful that no one was under it at the time.

About that time Mark was coming home and called me telling me to call hydro and let them know that a fire had started at the end of our lane......thankfully the hydro guy called me a minute or two later and said casually, "So, your hydro is out?" To which I replied...."Ummm....ya, the transformer blew and there is a fire at the end of our lane!!!!" Calmly he said, "Oh, so the trees probably are just touching the line." To which I replied, "NO....there are no trees there. Something is causing a fire." He then told me he was on his way out. When I hung up I realized that I didn't even know where he was coming from, so we had no idea how long he would be." 

Thankfully we had a water tank on the trailer, so Mark and Josh had taken it to the end of the lane and douced the fire. It had caught some grass on fire and was starting to spread. We were just so thankful that nothing had started on the yard.

After maybe half and hour the hydro guy finally showed up, and he seemed a little surprised at the fire and the transformer 'blowing' up! And I was just thinking, "This is what I TOLD you was happening!" (We found out later that something that should have shut the power down had malfunctioned when the transformer blew, that's why the fire)

It didn't take him long to tape off the area (see picture below, this is what we see when we look out our front windows) and proceeded to tell us to STAY OUT of the area. He said they were pretty sure that the oil that came out of the transformer wasn't toxic, but they  needed to be 100% sure before we went in that area.

So he called this big guy in to change the transformer so we could have power once again. Since this was a holiday (July 1st) we were very impressed at how quickly it actually all got done. And by evening our hydro was back on.

When they left, they reminded us again to stay out of the oil saturated area and a guy would come in the next few days to check things out.  And sure enough, a few days later an environmental guy came and told us that they would take a sample of the soil (not him of course, someone else had to come out another day!) He said that if the oil was toxic, then they would come in and remove the tree, rose bushes and sod. If it wasn't toxic then they would just remove the soil. The big tree is a special tree to us, we call it our family tree. It is a big old willow...not replaceable. So we were really hoping that the soil samples would not come back toxic. Then we waited, and finally they called and said that the sample was fine. They still had to come in and dig up the sod. They brought in new sod and then 'sprinkled' grass around the area. It was then that we decided we didn't want to mess with growing grass this time of year so we decided to do something totally different. We decided to make a disaster into a thing of beauty. And that's where the idea began.....and it grew.

To this....

We put in a fish pond....

We put in some rocks and perennials...

Found this cute windmill....

So when you drive onto the yard this is what you see now.

So there you have it, 
Some negatives do turn into a positive!

So You Think You're Having a Bad Day?

What about the guy who made this??????

Loving Our New Little Person to Love

It's hard to believe that a short week ago we met our little Jaden for the first time.
And yet it seems like he has been part of our family forever.
I am always amazed at the miracle of birth and the adjustments of having a newborn.
Even though there are days I feel tired beyond tired, my heart feels full beyond full.
I love every opportunity I have had to snuggle with our little man, to kiss his fuzzy little head.
And the rest of our family has felt the same. Not shortage of cuddles and hugs for this little babe.
We are having a hard time keeping his hair looking fresh and clean because of all the 'pets' he gets on his head throughout the day :) What a special thing to watch the bonds of siblings.

So far Jaden has been a pretty sleepy guy. Except for sometime in the middle of the night, when he finally finds that it's too quiet and has too look around for a bit :) Once again my girls have chosen to bless their mama with some extra sleep and after I feed him they take turns staying up to cuddle and settle him. And what a great job they do at it! Words cannot even express my gratitude towards their servants hearts. I only hope that someday I can repay them the favour :)

Here are some 1 week photos that Megan took of him today. (Did I mention that I love having a photographer living in our home?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JENNIFER

Yesterday marked the 19th year that we have had Jennifer in our family.

And what a wonderful 19 years it has been.

Jennifer has always been a refreshing person to be around. Since birth she was easy going and as she grew up she continued to be easy going in her attitude towards life. And today, she is still that way!

Jennifer reminds me a lot of her dad. Like her dad, her "it will all work out" attitude has many times made me take a second look at my circumstances from a different perspective, an "it will all work out perspective".

Jennifer has many passions in life. The most important one being that she follow God's will for her life and takes time to meditate on what that is. Her second most important being one of honoring her Daddy and trusting him to teach her, train her and equip her into the person that God has called her to be. We have been so honored with her attitude of waiting on God, and His perfect timing in her life. What a sweet place of rest to be.

Jennifer als0 loves little children. Again many times she has taught me the importance of taking time from my busy schedule to just love on a little one in our home. That is a really special characteristic that I hope she takes with her if God so chooses her to be a wife and mother someday.

Jennifer really likes animals, pretty much of any kind. But her favorite is horses. Her and her sisters have a lot of fun together riding in the wee hours of the morning. She has worked hard at learning what to do and not to do, what horses like and what they don't, how to take care of them properly...... Jennifer is also our chief milking maid :-) She milks 2 cows every morning and evening and does a great job at keeping things clean and running smoothly. Along with her sisters, Jennifer handled most of the calving this past spring. And they all did a terrific job.

So there is our dear Jennifer in a few words. A blessing, refreshing, hard working, dedicated, loving, joyful, honouring, super-duper daughter. We love you Jennifer and pray that you will continue to closer to your Heavenly Father this year.

He is HOME!!

Our sweet little man is HOME!

Mommy and Jaden are doing great...just a little tired :)

Jaden is enjoying his big brother and big nephew...

Our sweet little man..

Cuddles with big sis...

RED hair

We LOVE you Jaden!

We Got a Name!!!

Meet Jaden Isaac

It's a....

BOY!!!

Born July 29/10 @ 7:27 a.m.

Weighing 8lb 2oz

Name yet to be decided.

And The Winner Is....

And the winner for the give-away is

*DRUMROLL PLEASE*

Mrs. Mike

Congratulations!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

(Mrs. Mike if you could please email us your mailing address @ mrpauls@inetlink.ca so we can get your book out to you)

Favorite One Liners

Having a large family brings many people to feel the need of blurting out these 'one liners' Some are funny, some are silly and some are just plain rude :)

But there are some other one liners that I have heard a lot of over the years. Comes about this time each pregnancy.

Here they are.

No baby yet?

You're still here?

When's the big day?

Are you anxious to get this over with?

Are you ready?

Do you have names picked out?

Isn't that baby cooked yet?

So in case you are just wondering:

Yes, I have a baby....it's just still inside!

Yes, I am still here....plan on sticking around for awhile.

Not sure when the big day will be....God knows though.

I am content being pregnant, but I am excited to meet our little blessing....so, yes and no.

If you mean do I have everything ready for the baby....yes. If you mean am I emotionally and physically prepared.....yes, as much as is possible to prepare for labor :)

Have you ever tried naming 12 children? Nuff said :)

My belly button hasn't popped out yet. Does that mean baby's not cooked?

Book Giveaway

Just a reminder about this book giveaway

Get your comments in by July 27th 

to be entered into the draw.

Have a great day :)

Transitions

                                  

This is a day that is always hard for me. I've went through it now....let's see...11 times!

You'd think by now I would be used to it?

But not so.

Each time, it pricks a little piece of my mother heart.

Not sure why.....it just does.

For you see today was the day that my little Joey....became a big boy!

We moved him out of the baby room...and into the big kids room downstairs.

I knew it was going to happen....I tried to prepare myself for it....but to no avail.

Still a little prick in my heart.

Meg put Joey to bed the other night as I was working outside.

When I came in I saw the baby room door open and was ready to close it when.....
it dawned on me. My little Joey isn't in there anymore. He's one of the BIG kids now :)

I had to peek inside, just to make sure. And sure enough, the playpen was empty.

Our bedroom is attached to the baby room...so we have the privalage of hearing the baby babbling in the morning. It always brings a smile to my face. And my hubby will often yell out something like..."Hey Joey, Joey, what are you doing, doing, doing?" or something like that...it makes my morning!

But now it will be silent in the morning......

Now the good news is that in 2 weeks (Lord willing) that spot will be filled again by a new little person. The babbles will be a little different for the first while....but at least it will not be silent.

So once again I find myself wondering....will this be the last time that bed will be occupied? Or does God have more little ones for us in the future? I hope He does, but I also know that He is the one that opens and closes the womb. So with each pregnancy and each "transition" I wonder it will be the last of it's kind.

There are so many transitions when raising children, newborn, toddlers, school age, young adults, marriage, grandchildren. And each one of them is special and unique. I love being a mom!

What about you? What transitions are you going through?

An Encouraging Testimony and A GIVEAWAY!

We are privileged to be living close enough to the U.S. border that we are able to pick up a Christian Radio Station. We don't really listen to it much in the house, but when we are spending hours in the field, their inspiring programs help to pass the time much more quickly, so we will often listen to it.

The other day Mark came in from haying and started to share about a program he had heard that day. The story sounded very interesting to me and so I looked it up on computer, downloaded the programs to my phone (there were 4 parts), and while we were driving on Sunday we listened to them.

Ed Harrell has an amazing testimony of God's power, providence and protection, even out in the middle of the ocean. Here is an excerpt of his story:
Bob: Sixty-five years ago this month on July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine launched torpedoes that would sink the USS Indianapolis. Marine Ed Harrell was on board the Indianapolis that night.

Ed: When I actually left the ship, and there I prayed that somehow the Lord would see me through what lie ahead, and yet I had the foggiest idea that I'm going to be out there for four-and-a-half days. There's times when you pray and there's times when you pray—and there is a difference

I know how much I like to hear people testify of God's goodness to them, and so I thought I would pass on the link from Out of the Depths, to you.  This link is to Part One of the story. If you want to listen to the whole thing you will want to listen to parts 2-4 too. The links are on this page as well.

Oh, and one more thing, parents, if you have children who are quite sensitive to some things, you will want to listen to this first and make sure it's OK for them. There is talk of sharks and some not so nice things they did.

If you listen to it, would you let me know what your favourite part of the testimony was? Then your name will be entered into a draw for this book.....You have until July 27th to get your comment in.

Pregnancy Update

The last couple of weeks have been busy with Dr. appt.'s, ultra sound, tests & dietitian visits.
On Tuesday I had an ultra sound and the technician said everything looked great. I seem to be measuring right on with my due date, meaning the baby is about the right size, so that is an answer to prayer.

I also saw the dietitian again on Tuesday and she was pleased enough with the way things were going that I do not have to go back to her unless my sugars start to go up. I still have to test myself like before, but we are so glad that change of diet is working and I won't have to take insulin.

As for my change of diet, I am finally starting to get used to what I can eat with what and so on. I won't lie and say it's easy. It's very hard sometimes, especially with my sweet tooth :) But I thought I would crave sweets a lot more than I have, so for that I am thankful. And I am also thankful I didn't have to give up my all time favorite night time snack, POPCORN! I did have to give up the lemonade that went so beautifully with it but OH WELL!

I saw the Dr. today and she was pleased with last weeks blood tests. She agreed to let me see my midwife next week, so I am very excited about that. I really want my midwife to be able to be involved in this birth if at all possible. Even though I have a super nice Dr., it is really hard to go back to one after having a midwife with the last 4 babies. But again, I am have a great respect for my Dr. She is caring, listens, takes the time to explain things, and I don't feel like just a number. Really, she's the best Dr. I have ever been to.

I am feeling great! Baby is moving lots and lots and lots! I am not usually even that tired, which is a great blessing. The weather has been co-operating with me, as we have only had a couple of real scorching days this summer, and Mark got the air conditioner in just in time for most of those days :)

The rest of the family is excited about when they will meet their new little brother or sister. We bought a few little clothes and diapers, so that always makes it seem more real to them. Soon we will have to have a serious name discussion. I think each of us have a couple of favorites in mind, but nothing is for sure yet. It gets harder and harder to pick names the more children we have!

So thanks again for all who have been praying for me! I appreciate it so much, and am so grateful to God for answering them. God is good.....all the time!

Don't forget to vote for what you think this baby will be.....a boy or girl. And if you want to leave a comment telling us what you guessed....even better :)

What do you think?

Just for fun

Put in your vote

What do you think

baby Pauls

will be

a boy

or

a girl

(Poll is posted on the sidebar)

Happy Birthday to Brooke

It's hard to believe that 5 years have already passed since we first laid eyes on our little Brookie.

That was a very different year for us as we were living and working at a Christian camp for the summer. You were born a day earlier than your due date and we hardly had to miss a beat. We did stay home and recover for about a week, and then back to camp we went.

From the first moment, you were a quiet baby and basically just slept and ate. This made helping out at the camp a lot easier. When I look back I am not sure how we did all that. Having 9 children, 5 of them under 7, and being sleep deprived, I am amazed how God gave us that strength when we needed it! It gives me hope for this baby, who is due in a very busy season with farming and the garden, that God will give us the strength when we need it.

In some sense it almost felt like you were our first little girl, since it had been 10 yrs. since we had a 'baby girl'. Kerri officially lost that title that she had held onto for so long. But all the girls were thrilled to dress you up in frilly little dresses and be able to love on a little sister.

If I would try to describe you, I would say you are a little girl who loves life to the fullest! You can often be found with a giggle on your lips. You remind me so much of your daddy. But even in your silliness you are quite shy. If you see that you have an audience, you like to hide.

The playmates you are most often found with are Nathan and Mikaya. Nathan will often play house or dolls with you and Mikaya tags along. When Nathan is playing sports with his brothers, then you and Mikaya are usually found still playing with dolls, or helping your older sisters in the kitchen.

You are very good with names of things. If we are making something for a meal that you have never heard of, you ask us what it is, and a few hours later, you announce to Daddy the name of the dish. I am always amazed at how you can remember those little things.

You love to go with your Daddy to the field. When you are in the tractor with him you both make up silly songs and change the words to songs. You still think that the Itsy Bitsy Spider song says, "The sun came up and dried up all the land" no matter how many times Daddy tells you it's "dried up all the RAIN"!!! You and him have had many fun disagreements over this :) You also play the game of A A....butterfly. Or C C....Horsie. Or F F....Piggy!!!! And the two of you will go on and on! I'm sure someday soon you will learn the real sounds to the letters. For now you will just have fun with them!

I see in you a heart that loves to worship. You don't sing very loud, but I hear you often singing worship songs. It blesses my heart!

You love to color by number. And because you can't read, you have to ask me what color a certain number is. But you don't just ask me for one number, you ask me for 2 or 3 at a time. And you remember them. There's that memory again. I think it might come in very handy for me!!!

I can't imagine our family without our bubbly little Brookie. God knew just who we needed and when we needed you! You are a blessing to all of us.

We pray for you, that this will be a year of continued joy in Christ. The happiness of this world is fleeting, but the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Keep on making us all laugh....we need it!

We love you Brooke. Happy Birthday!

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 28:7

What Do You Think?

I wonder what is keeping this little boy so entertained???? 

It is a DVD..

Its not a cartoon....

IT is a singing group....

He comes running when he hears it playing....

It is the ....The Gaither Vocal Band!!!