Grace Proclaimers

January Pictures

2010-02-03T07:18:00.008-05:00

"Helping" me pack for our vacation At the "Chinese" restaurant in Ourlandia. This gives you an idea of what it's like here...

Enjoying a swim in the living room on a rainy day. One benefit of having a tiled house!
Our new hammock on the back porch...

The church shows up for my "birthday".

On the Bookshelf

2010-01-11T14:31:00.004-05:00

Since I am unable to upload photos due to VERY slow internet, I am switching to a more literary bent, at least until we get home and I can start uploading pictures and video again!

Now that I am shelving my photo journalling, I thought it appropriate to share some of the books that are on my book shelf right now. Well, actually on the floor since we don't have a bookshelf. Not a single one to be had for hundreds of kilometers, unless we have it specially made. No libraries here, and I haven't found a bookstore yet.

This is not my official book list for this year. Due to limited space, I brought down three books for myself to read plus a book of activities for Jessica. I am still in the process of compiling my list - but I have a lot of time to do that since I won't be able to access any of them until April.

So here are the books:

The Six Days of Genesis by Paul F. Taylor
A Scientific Appreciation of Chapter 1 -11

The Difference is the Son by Daniel Shayesteh
A study of Islam and Christianity by a former Iranian politician who became a Christian and had to escape to Turkey then to America with his wife and children

Daniel: Godly Living in a Hostile World by William Burnett
Not the usual prophetic take - this one is a practical application of the life and example of Daniel.

Surviving Your Toddler by Trish Kuffner
While I think the title of this book should be Enjoying Your Toddler, this is an excellent resource that I've had for over a decade. It contains several chapters with a variety of activities, games, art projects for your one to three year old. Although Jessica is not quite ready for most of them yet, there are some that I think she'll enjoy. Plus having it here gives me time to plan ahead for when we get home.

Storm clouds are brewing and the temperature is at 44 degrees so time to disconnect!

Jessica First 1st Birthday Party

2009-12-18T09:32:00.004-05:00

We invited a few of the neighbourhood children to come for Jessica's party.

This little guy was quietly sharing treats with Jessica.

Chocolatey treats which Jessica really enjoyed!

This picture came up twice - and I can't seem to delete it.

It was a great afternoon!

A Sample of the Wildlife...

2009-12-17T22:19:00.003-05:00

We came home to find this in our living room.

The day before, Richard found one in his boot - after he had been wearing them for 30 minutes!

Sunday Afternoon at the Falls

2009-12-17T22:08:00.003-05:00

Sunday afternoon is the only time off that Richard has. We spent one afternoon relaxing at a waterfall about 20 minutes from where we live. Don't worry - no pirranhas!

November shots

2009-12-17T21:53:00.003-05:00

Trying out Brazilian foods...

"What is this you're trying to feed me??!!"

"This is not what I ordered!"

"Okay. I'll give it a try."

"Hey it's good! I always say, it's good to try new things!"

Our First Day in Ourlanjia

2009-10-26T08:01:00.003-04:00

Photos were taken by one of Richard's coworkers.

More House Pictures

2009-10-24T13:46:00.002-04:00

Jessica is enjoying her new "wheels"

The bathroom off of our bedroom. The picture doesn't do justice to the brightness of the tiles!

The livingroom - not too exciting but comfortable. We are hoping to get a bookshelf or something that will function as one.

2009-10-13T14:45:00.003-04:00

Outside the house. The walls are 10 feet high all the way around with electric fencing on top. The gate is automatic and has an intercom system.

The front yard - looking from the front door towards the gate. The brick chimney is a built in barbeque with eating area.

I'll post inside pictures when we get moved in.

Our new house

2009-10-13T10:27:00.003-04:00

I'm having trouble uploading today so I'll just post this one for now and work on the others. This is the front of the house standing inside the gate.

Sao Paulo

2009-10-08T10:45:00.002-04:00

From our hotel room balcony - 15th Floor

On the Road Again...and Again...and Again

2009-09-30T13:00:00.005-04:00

We have arrived in sunny and HOT Brazil!

I am very behind in my updating - I would like to give an account of our trip to England and Zambia but I don't want to keep getting further and further behind. So I have decided to start with the here and now and go back when I have updated about Brazil.

Our first leg of the journey was from Toronto to Sao Paulo - 10 1/2 hours overnight. Jessica slept most of the way in our arms since Air Canada does not have the infant cots that British Airways does. Although AC does provide infant meals, which BA does not, so that was a relief. We had a bit of trouble getting food for Jessica through s*ec*urty at Hea*th*rw on our way to Lusaka - but I'll elaborate on that another time.

Sao Paulo is an interesting city. It is very old and rundown in some places but in others very modern and well kept. You will see an eclectic mix of European and Indigenous architecture.

As I was sitting in the airport waiting for Richard to exchange some money, I was struck by the different people groups represented in one nation. Even I could be thought of as Brazilian despite my pale brown complexion. (Did you realize that everyone has brown skin? Try holding a piece of white paper next to your skin and decide for yourself if you are really "white" or a black piece of paper as the case may be). Watching the people go by made me think of the Tower of Babel. Disobedience to God's command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth resulted in a united human race with one language seperating into different family groups and languages which brings us the people groups we see today. Isolating genetic information has given us a wide range of skin tones (shades of brown from dark to light) hair colour, eye colour etc. But we are all "one blood" as the Bible says.

Our taxi ride from the airport to the hotel brought us right past the infamous "favellas" - where the desperately poor try to exist right next to immense wealth. However, Brazil is not a "third world" or "developing nation. You can purchase almost anything here that you could in Canada. Except Tim Horton's coffee which I am really wishing we had brought down with us.

After a day of sleeping, we had dinner in the hotel and watched an interesting program on tv while we were eating. (Hard not to since the tv was in the restaurant and right in front of us). Imagine a mix of America's Funniest Videos, American Idol and (for those who watched "In Living Color" in the 90's) the Fly Girls "dancing" (read: writhing) in the background. We are NOT getting a tv when we move into our house.

The next day we were up at 4am to catch our first of three flights for the day. One interesting thing I noted at every airport was the very few children present. I maybe counted 4 at the first 2 airports and none at the last one. Travel is very expensive here; most people travelling are on business, not vacation. But this also meant that once again, Jessica was a star attraction. In Brazil, by law if you are over 60, disabled, pregnant or have a small child, you must be bumped to the front of any line. So having Jessica saved us a lot of time!

Our final flight of the day was in a 10 seater plane. We sat right behind the pilots. It was like being in a speed boat - on very choppy water. But I enjoyed it. I wasn't even worried when the pilot took out a map and pasted it to the windscreen.

Well, he had forgotten his sunglasses and was using it to block out the bright sun.

We are settled nicely in our hotel room and Richard is back to work. There is a lovely pool at the hotel and the staff are extremly friendly. They are very helpful in teaching me Portugese. Having taken Spanish, I can read Portugese fairly well and understand some of what is said if the person speaks slowly. But to speak it myself is very difficult. One can try Spanish and most of the time can be understood. However, some words in Spanish are said the same in Portugese but have very different meanings. Richard was told of a young women who was visiting the church here that he has been attending. She was from one of the neighbouring Spanish speaking countries and was asked to stand since she was a visitor. She said she was too embarrassed to stand up which completely shocked the people there. The word for embarrass is said the same in both languages but in Portugese it means "pregnant" so they heard "I'm too pregnant to stand up".

I think I'll stick to gestures for now and skip the Spanish.

We are going to view our potential new home tonight. I visited a few stores yesterday with the wife of one of Richard's coworkers. She is Brazilian, from Sao Paulo, so having her with me was a big help. I'm not sure I could have coped with the sales staff. They were very friendly but followed us everywhere. I guess they work on commission and since my English speaking gave me away, knew that we would be purchasing several big ticket items. There's only one store to buy furniture and several of the people on this project have already moved into houses so the sales staff knew what we were there for!

We are looking forward to settling in to our new home and getting in to a routine, at least for a few months.

Pictures are coming - as soon as I find my card reader.

2009-09-16T13:12:00.003-04:00

How the months are flying by.

We'll be updating soon with more pictures. I'm hoping to do more with this blog in the coming weeks and months, especially as we move (temporarily) to Brazil.

Stay tuned.

Basement Photos

2009-02-18T10:37:00.007-05:00

The electrical panel is now behind the door.

And the rest you'll get to see when you come and visit!

My "Happy" Baby!

2009-02-18T10:18:00.003-05:00

Meeting Tanis at the airport with the one and only picture of Jessica with a soother. She has not taken one since.

The next two were both taken yesterday. Jessica did not appreciate the tummy time mat I bought her.

But she did recover quickly!

Jessica Johanna Brooks

2009-01-06T15:16:00.001-05:00

Elysha's "Birthday"

2008-11-21T10:56:00.005-05:00

We can't put anymore fresh flowers in until the spring, just artificial flower stands (standard practice). Last week they put in wooden stakes to mark the graves so one can find them in the snow.

Our Basement part one

2008-11-21T10:32:00.004-05:00

After a few weeks of waiting, the work began on our basement this past Monday. It is coming along very quickly! The tag line for the company is "Beautiful Basements in About 2 Weeks" or something close to that. With the size of our basement, it shouldn't be any longer than that!

The Laundry room isn't being finished but will be closed off with a door and have it's own light switch. Right now it's holding the couch, treadmill, pantry, freezer etc...it's a little crowded.

(Above) Looking towards the back wall.

(Below) Looking towards the front of the house (stairs on the right)

These two pics show the 3 piece bathroom. Stairs are on the right.

The electrical has been roughed in and they've started digging the flooring up in the bathroom as some of the plumbing has to be moved.

It's hard to tell from these shots but we have a lot more room in the living area than we pictured. I couldn't find a picture of it but they are putting a box seat with cupboard doors around the sump pump in the back corner which can be used a seat, tv stand, shelf, etc.

I'll post more pictures as significant changes occur.

Elysha's Tribute Video

2008-08-25T10:28:00.002-04:00

99 Balloons

2008-06-27T14:42:00.001-04:00

Far too long...

2008-04-11T09:19:00.005-04:00

Some pics since we've been home...

Elysha is an avid reader...
And a deep thinker...
Watch her flip the soother up and catch it in her mouth...okay not really...she just spits it out with a lot of force!
She has a great laugh!

We have really enjoyed having Elysha home with us. She is a treasure - and a lot of fun to watch. Starting next week we will be back at Sick Kids for presurgerical procedures to determine the next course of action for her as well as having her illiostomy reversed (yay!!!)

Also in the middle of all this, we have sold our condo and bought a beautiful home to spread ourselves out in. The Lord really made it clear that now was the time to do this. We bought and sold in 10 days. Every time we visit our new place, we find something more we like about it. We took possession on March 31rst but as the closing on our condo is not until the 15th of April, we've had two weeks to pack up our old place and get some work done on our new place before moving in this Saturday. I do hope to have more to blog about once we get our place set up. I'm looking forward to sharing all the God has blessed us with!

At four weeks...already a worrier!

And at four months...not much has changed :)

2008-01-23T21:28:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Raptors pay a visit

2008-01-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

Elysha's smile starts to come back

First feed from a bottle in a month! All three millilitres!
Our new room
First trip off the ward with our "Christmas tree" in tow

2008-01-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

Opening her eyes for the first time since the surgery!

After 2 1/2 weeks we get to hold her!

The ventilator is out!
PICC line inserted

Family Portrait

2007-12-18T21:07:00.001-05:00

Five Weeks!

2007-12-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

The suit says "Apple of Daddy's Eye"

Elysha Finds Her Thumb

2007-12-03T14:57:00.001-05:00

This was taken two weeks ago...

She hasn't sucked her thumb since!

One Month!!!

2007-11-30T13:35:00.000-05:00

A Few Changes...

2007-11-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

The Monday following my previous post Richard and I attended our weekly doctor's appointment at Mount Sinai...and didn't leave the hospital for a week. Well, Richard did, I had to stay. Hence the long gap between posts.

But all 3 of us are home!!! The Lord has certainly answered our prayers, & the prayers of others, far better than we ever imagined. For all the details, visit our website (link on the right).

I'll be posting non-medical stuff here - like these pictures.

Daddy having devotions with Elysha - starting with songs from "Kabompo Sings" - a hymn book from Zambia

Yes, she is holding the bottle up by herself - with her mouth of course but she is trying to grab hold!
Elysha has long conversations with her giraffe. She just loves to stare at it!

Two little monkies...well one big one & one little!

Fancy Breakfast

2007-10-22T13:09:00.000-04:00

My dear husband surprised me last weekend with an amazing breakfast! Even the presentation was perfect. I've been on bedrest for the last few weeks so this was a wonderful treat!

Homemade waffles with fresh fruit. Berries in the bowl in the middle of the table surrounded by sliced bananas.

2007-10-22T12:52:00.000-04:00

As long as I can remember, my mother has been knitting. She started at age 4 so you can imagine that by now, she's an expert. She recently presented us with a "few" things for the baby...with more to come! The blanket was also made by Mum, folded up so that it could fit in the shot.

Because our baby will need immediate hospitilization, we were told that clothes were unnecessary at this stage, but mitts, booties, and hats were good to have. She may not be able to wear all of them at once because of the leads and i.v.'s that she'll have in. But Mum found a way to get around that, at least as far as the hats are concerned. Explanation is below.

The hats like the one below all have hold strategically placed around the top so that the leads can come through. One at the very top and the rest around the crown. Amazing!
But they are small enough that the yarn "stays together" if they aren't needed. I just stretched it out a bit before I took the pictures so you could see where the holes were.

If you would like to keep up to date on our baby's progress, particularly her surgeries and recovery, please visit our website at www.rnbrooks.com

Thanks Mum!!

A Gracious Home

2007-09-28T11:07:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 23rd, Richard was speaking at Fair Havens Community Church just outside of Beaverton. We were offered accomodation for the weekend so we made our way up Saturday evening. The couple we stayed with were wondeful! We were made to feel so welcome and in conversation over the weekend discovered we had mutual friends and that I attended the same church in Windsor their daughter and son-in-law do. We were there at the same time, many years ago of course, but still, another connection!

Below are some pictures of their home...it was like being at a bed and breakfast. Speaking of breakfast...bacon, eggs, toast, juice, fruit, coffee...we were spoiled!

The church family was so welcoming and we again discovered many connections with Zambia, North Bay and Camp ABK! We also met a dear couple with four children, their youngest having been born with a heart defect which necessitated an emergency flight to Sick Kids hospital. They were not aware ahead of time about it so it was a very trying time of many unknowns. We were able to "talk shop" with them for quite a while. Their picture is at the bottom.

The picture above shows the view from the guest room.
Hand made furniture by our host.

Knox Adult Fellowship Annual BBQ

2007-09-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

For the past several years, my family have hosted a bbq for the adult fellowship group of Knox Presbyterian Church (where my parents met and currently attend). This year we had about 30 people out. We've done it so long, Mum and I have it down to a science...the best location for the food table, condiment table, chairs, coffee/tea service, how much to make so there are some leftovers (for lunch the next day since we're too tired to cook again) etc. etc. It was a beautiful day; sunny, no humidity (the day before was VERY humid) all in all a perfect day. Thank you Lord!

Just a few shots of some of those in attendance...

Memory of Betty

2007-09-17T14:55:00.000-04:00

We came across some back issues of the monthly Missions magazine that highlights news of assembly commended workers around the globe. In 1998, Richard's Aunt Betty was commended (sent out) from her assembly (church) in South River, Ontario. Below is the article about her that was published in November of 1998. Click on the article for a larger copy of it if you'd like to read about her.

Goal for the Future

2007-09-04T09:51:00.000-04:00

I think our spiritual expectations of our children need to be raised. Especially after seeing this video. What an encouragement to see a family encouraging their child from a young age to develop a love of the Word of God!

The New Mr. & Mrs. Wahab

2007-08-30T15:09:00.000-04:00

I am very behind in pictures so this is a little out of order.

We attended the wedding of our friend Phil on August 4th. He married a wonderful and well suited woman from Ohio, where the wedding was held. Richard had been asked to be one of the ushers. We headed down just 2 weeks after our return from Pennsylvania. A beautiful drive to a beautiful wedding. We spent the night nearby and then attended morning services at Stephanie's home assembly. They held a fellowship lunch afterwards as there were a number of people from our assembly there as well.

Phil, anxiously awaiting the start of the ceremony.
Stephanie and her bridal party. (Phil's sister Laura is on the far left). Stephanie designed her dress herself. I believe that is her brother on the right.Cutting the cake at the reception. Steph's grandmother made the cake-it's all cake too.
One of the couples at our table. They did a joint reading during the ceremony and rolled out the white runner for Stephanie before she came down the aisle. They were both saved out of the Amish religion.

Phil's brothers' artwork.

The day after the wedding at the fellowship lunch. They left for their honeymoon in the Bahamas on the Tuesday.

Bushkill Falls continued

2007-08-01T17:49:00.001-04:00

See below for description.

Allantown/Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

2007-08-01T17:21:00.001-04:00

Some shots from a beautiful natural reserve we visited called "Bushkill Falls". It advertises itself as "Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania". I don't think they've ever been to Niagara Falls. But it was a beautiful site. Stairs have been built around the area to climb up and down beside the falls. It was a workout!

Aunt Betty - Called Home

2007-07-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

Richard's Aunt Betty went to be with the Lord at 5:00AM today (Thursday, July 19th).

Dr. Elizabeth Brooks held a PhD in Social Work and was a professor at Nipissing University. Both prior to and following her appointment at the university she was a missionary to Zambia and Russia. She had hoped to return to Zambia, however cancer treatment prevented her from going. She still carried on for the Lord here in Canada and had plans for visitations to those in Bethany Lodge nursing home after she moved to Bethany Courts condos in Unionville. The Lord had other plans for her though. Shortly after selling her cottage in Eagle Lake and moving to Bethany, she took ill again and spent several weeks in hospital.

At approximately 6:00pm EST, we received word that Betty's cancer had returned, apparently undetected for some time. She had been given 48 hours to a month to live as cancer had spread throughout her skeletal system and into one lung. Eleven hours after we received the news, the Lord graciously released her from the painful confines of her human body and she is now in His glorious presence.

We were able to visit with her, along with Richard's sister Rachel, just last Saturday. We sang a few hymns and songs for her just before we left. The last one was "In Christ Alone". The last verse of that song is so applicable today.

No guilt in life. No fear in death.
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry, 'til final breath Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of Hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand.
'Til He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

We are in Pennsylvania right now (business trip for Richard) but will be making arrangements to travel back early when we know the funeral arrangements.

We do not sorrow as those who have no hope, for our hope (divine certainty) is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Richard's 30th birthday at Betty's cottage, Eagle Lake. July 16, 2006

Betty's first visit to our home following her cancer treatment.

Recent Activities

2007-07-12T10:20:00.000-04:00

Richard surprised me with these wonderful shelves he installed in our outside cupboard. It opened up so much more cupboard space in the kitchen and given how heavy the corningware is, makes it easier to get in and out.

Richard was the guest speaker for Massey Bible Chapel's retreat a few weekends ago. Richard's cousin, Mary, and her family live up there and organized the event. It was held at Camp ABK (between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie). Beautiful location! ABK = Aush-bik-koong meaning "To the Rock". This is a picture of a baptism held for a 10 year old boy. You can't really see him as he's just come out of the water and his mom is hugging him. I didn't get a lot of other pictures but did get a couple of videos which I can't upload unfortunately. :(

This is a picture of Richard's cousin's Mary's house which she and her husband, Richard, are building. They are doing as much of the work themselves as they can. It is an incredible location, right on the river (pictured below).

As it isn't finished yet, we only took one inside shot so you can see some of the work done. Beautiful hardwood floors and tile in front of the doors in the living room.

A New Name

2007-07-04T12:22:00.000-04:00

My Mum has always been a wealth of information about a variety of subjects. Last night she mentioned she came across a baby name book in the library and looked up "Elysha". She informed us that the name is of Greek and Latin origin and has a very different meaning from what we thought. Apparently, the entry I found for the name was incorrect in stating "Elysha" is the feminine variant of "Elisha" .

Further investigation showed that "Elisha" is both the male and female spelling and can be pronounced Ee-lie-sha or Ell-ee-sha (the pronounciation we want).

Elisha means "The Lord is my salvation". Elysha means something completely different.

It means "one who was struck by lightening".

We had a pretty good laugh about it and even now I'm chuckling to myself especially given the fact that the odds of being struck by lightening and the odds of being born with all the heart defects our daughter has are about the same.

So we will be changing the spelling to one that fits with the meaning we want.

Ellisha is now the spelling we're going with. At least for now...

A Broken Heart

2007-06-21T10:28:00.000-04:00

"In all their distress, He too, was distressed and the Angel of His presence saved them; He lifted them up and carried them..." Isaiah 63:9

We have received so much information about Elysha's condition over the past few days that our heads are swimming.

On Monday we spent the day at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. We had a 2 hour ultrasound and did receive the good news while we were there that almost everything about her is normal.

Following the scan, the doctors consulted together, did another ultrasound then sat down with us. They gave us a preliminary diagnosis but defered to the paediatric cardiologist we were then booked to see at Sick Kids Hospital the next day (Tuesday). We were also refered to the High Risk Pregnancy clinic because in addition to the heart issue, there are issues with the uterine artery which is preventing enough nutrition and blood flow reaching the baby. It is not as much of a problem now as it will be during the third trimester when she needs to put on weight.

Tuesday: Sick Kids Hospital for a fetal echocardiogram. It's basically a specialized ultrasound. This one was also almost 2 hours in total, after a brief break while the cardiologist took a look at the slides. We then had to wait while the doctor reviewed the data and (unknown to us at the time) consulted with collegues.

We then had a 35 minute consult. It is actually worse than what we were initially told at Mount Sinai. Here is what we were told.

1) Dextrocardia-the apex (tip of the heart) is pointing to the right as well as the heart itself being over to the right. So the heart is reversed.

2)The pulmonary artery is narrowed and may continue to narrow

3)The right and left atriums (the top "filling" chambers) are in the correct place (for her reversed heart) but the left ventricle is on the right and the right ventricle is on the left (bottom "pumping" chambers). If you don't know anatomy, they do have different destinations (right to the lungs-lower capacity and left to the rest of the body-higher capacity) and need to be connected to the corresponding atriums so this is not a good situation.

4)She has a VSD-Ventricle Septal Defect. There is no division between the right and left ventricles so the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood is mixing, basically diluting the mix depleting the oxygen.

5)The pulmonary artery and aorta both feed into the right ventricle. The pressure is not enough to get the blood flow to the body and lungs in an adequate manner.

6)There is an unknown issue with a duct that because of the dextrocardia, they couldn't get a good picture of on the ultrasound. We'll find out about that after she's born.

7)One concern that may be showing up (they were seeing a drop in the baby's heart but could have been caused by other things) is that the electrical nodes that regulate beating and rythmn may lose the ability to communicate because of the VSD. If that happens, cardiac arrest and stroke are likely after birth.

What can they do?

Well, in addition to presenting us with the problems, we were given the surgical options. They all have very, very good success rates. They are, however, complicated by the dextrocardia and the unknown issues that come up.

The first surgery will be shortly after birth once she is stabalized. We will deliever at Mount Sinai Hospital and she'll be immediately transported to Sick Kids into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Within 6 weeks they will put in a shunt into the pulmonary artery to expand it.

The next one will be between 6 and 12 months of age when she has gained weight and gotten stronger. The right and left ventricles will be seperated (baffle operation). The pulmonary artery will be sealed at the end and have a bypass conduit attached ending in the right ventricle. There will be "overpass" and "underpass" conduits to reconnect the other areas. The goal is restoring normal blood flow direction and pumping chambers.

Subsequent operations will be changing the conduits as she grows and there is a potential for the baffle to become obstructed so that will have to be redone. There may be a need for a pacemaker and a heart transplant if the blood flow does not normalize and/or the pulmoary artery continues to collapse.

We are looking potentially at spending the first year of life or more in hospital with frequent surgeries throughout childhood. We are encouraged though that this is considered to be moderate in terms of risk-they have seen worse cases. We have received excellent care at both hospitals and are so thankful to the Lord we are not in Brazil, or even Acton, as we are closer to Toronto and the GO line which has saved us driving into downtown Toronto. We are also thankful OHIP covers all of this. It's amazing to think that all these things were discovered on a heart that's the size of a peach pit!

We are still adjusting to the news-it may not really sink in until we see her in the NICU but in all this HE IS ABLE! Please pray as we seek His will for us in terms of ministry; we are now exposed to a whole new area that we never would have thought we would ever be a part of.

One last thought. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! Some have asked how Elysha could survive in the womb with such defects. During development, there are two conduits coming off the heart that attach to the umbillical cord. The heart is essentially bypassed until after birth when the cord is cut, then the conduits fall away and are absorbed. Evolution? Random chance? I don't think so!

"My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." - Psalms 73:26

God's Grace is Enough

2007-06-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

Richard and I were introduced to this ministry a few months ago. How amazing is our God!

http://

This clip shows how he goes about his day. Truly amazing!

http://

New Additions

2007-06-11T16:42:00.001-04:00

We have two newcomers to our home...

Richard installed this himself - and did an excellent job. It works beautifully and I am so thankful for it!

And...

A 2000 Nissan Quest LXE. Lots of storage capacity, which was already put to very good use for our church picnic on the weekend. We're also looking forward to taking it up north next weekend to Camp ABK. It's a second vehicle (we haven't gotten rid of the Civic) so I can get to and from appointments and, Lord willing, come October get around with the baby.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2007-06-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

The Lord revealed part of His plans for us on Wednesday.

We see His hand working in keeping us from going to Brazil and from moving to Acton.

A phone call from our doctor has put us further in to the unknown for the future, but thanks be to God who knows the future and holds all of us, including our daughter, in His hands.

In hindsight, we see now the reason for the length of time the doctor spent listening to our daughter's heart; why the technician doing the ultrasound on Tuesday called a second collegue in to confer; why we had to wait for a 1/2 hour afterwards before going home.

Our daughter has a rare genetic congential defect called "Dextro Cardia with situs solitus" - her heart is on the right side of her body instead of the left and the lobes of her lungs are reversed as well.

If the heart structure is normal, she will be completely healthy and only need a medic alert bracelet in case she ever needs CPR, defribillating, or a chest scan.

Some people with this condition have all their organs reversed and strangely enough, this is actually better because it means all the connections will be in the right place.

They did pick up some restricted blood flow on her scan so we need to go to Mount Sinai in Toronto for a fetal echo cardiogram to see what, if any, structural damage is present. With this condition, between 90 and 95% have additional heart defects. When all the organs are reveresed (situs inversus) the incidenct of heart defects is between 1 and 3%.

In all of this, the scripture reading from the Daily Light on Tuesday (see previous post) in more applicable now than ever.

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."

It is wonderful to know that even now people around the globe are praying for our little girl. The fact that she does move so much is very encouraging. She's letting us now she's still here!

For those of you reading who know the Lord, we appreciate your prayers and will keep updates posted here as soon as we get them. At the moment we are waiting to hear when our appointment will be at Mount Sinai.

HE IS FAITHFUL!

Second Glimpse

2007-06-05T16:42:00.000-04:00

Our "mid-pregnancy" ultrasound was today! I have been feeling a lot of movement over the last few weeks and today was no exception. The two technicians were refering to our little one as "jumping bean". I had to keep rolling from side to side to let the techs get the necessary shots and at one point they were going to have me lay on my stomach to try to get the baby to settle down. Hopefully, this level of activity will calm down a little after birth!

We had excellent views, and Richard got a wave a one point. While we don't have an 'official' report, we do know the baby has a 'beautiful spine' (you can see the outline of it on the scan below).

Because the baby would not keep still, we had to wait around afterwards to make sure the films came out clear and while we were waiting, Richard read today's "Daily Light" for us. If you don't know what Daily Light is, it is a daily devotional of various scripture passages on a single theme. We had two of the selections read at our wedding, for those who were there. I've pasted today's evening reading below. The Lord has truly blessed us today!

EVENING

JUNE 5

He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

The Lord God formed man
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul.

I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet
there was none of them.

Have we not all one father? Hath not one
God created us? — In him we live, and move, and have our being. — Like as a father pitieth his children, so the L ord pitieth them that fear him.

He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and
destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

PSA. 103:14. Gen. 2:7. Psa. 139:14-16. Mal. 2:10. ‑Acts 17:28. ‑Psa. 103:13. Psa. 78:38,39.

I Should Be Working...

2007-05-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

...but I just got up from a much needed nap and am not quite ready to move yet. So instead, here are some shots of the trails around our home that we have been enjoying over the past weeks.

Brazil- Sao Paulo (fourth post)

2007-05-17T10:09:00.000-04:00

Urban jungle...

Top and Bottom shots are views from Richard's office window.

The sqaure platforms on the top of the buildings are heli-pads. It's faster and safer to transport people from the airport via helicopter. Most offices have them.

More of Brazil (third post)

2007-05-17T09:58:00.000-04:00

Cesar (Richard's Co-worker) with his girlfriend and assorted relatives. The woman in the white tshirt is his aunt.

Cesar's Dad built this bbq. Meat features heavily in the Brazilian diet.

Cesar's parents.

Front of the house-it's interesting to see the European influence in the houses.

The swimming hole. Also known as the cow pond.

More From Brazil

2007-05-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

"Urban" Cowboy 8)

Well trained birds helping with the laundry!
This cow was so placid, they could actually sit on her.

It got quite cool at night as demonstrated by these birds huddling together for warmth.

Beautiful Brazil

2007-05-14T20:20:00.000-04:00

One of the weekends that Richard was away, he visited the family farm of a coworker.

We'll start with the "wildlife". As this was a working dairy farm (milking done by hand!) there were plenty of cows around. This bull had his horns removed as a calf so he couldn't do much damage if he attacked.

At least the eyes aren't glowing red!

The matriarch of the family hand raised these birds, but felt badly keeping them caged. She released them but they returned to her. They sleep in a blanket lined box in her bedroom and hang around for treats as well (like the popcorn in the next picture)!

More pictures to come!

Update-finally!

2007-04-28T13:59:00.000-04:00

I was just thinking how much better this blog is going to be once the baby comes-then we'll actually have some interesting things to post!

Although, the past few weeks have been very busy with illness, real estate deals and travel so I guess I do have some things to put up here. No pictures though, as our camera is taking a trip with Richard right now along with the memory card. But that also means we'll have some nice pictures to share soon.

Firstly, the condo. The house that we had an offer on in Acton was sold (to someone else) three days before our 60 day agreement. So we believe that is clear direction from the Lord to stay where we are for now. It will be a little more cramped but our 715 sq.ft. is luxury compared to the living conditions of some so we have nothing to complain about. It's interesting, looking at the list of things we had to get for the baby when we thought we'd be moving to a three bedroom, two storey house and realizing how few of those things we actually need (or have room for!). Basically, we need a bed and a carseat. Refering, of course, to "furniture". Clothes and diapers aren't counted here. :)

Secondly, Richard and I were both sick for a couple weeks; Richard even took a week off work! It was pretty bad but thankfully, he got better before he had to leave for Brazil.

Which leads me to the third update: Richard is in Brazil for two weeks. He left Sunday and will be back next Saturday morning. Even though it's going into their colder season, it was 31degrees when he got there and sunny. He called me from the hotel pool :(

So I've been keeping busy while he's away with various activities. Including buying maternity clothes which was a great experience! There was was a big sale on at one of the specialty clothing stores so I went in and had a nice chat with the saleswoman there who explained to me the ins and outs of maternity wear.

Anyway, tonight is our International Dinner at Hopedale. Richard and I were supposed to sing the Zambian national anthem and a hymn in Lunda, but I don't know the anthem well enough to sing by myself and I couldn't find the hymnbook until late last night so I'm not ready. If I get called up anyway, I may just sign a hymn instead. That's foreign language to most people I think!

Our First Glimpse

2007-03-30T13:18:00.000-04:00

We were finally able to get a look at our little one! After two very upsetting appointments at one ultrasound clinic we switched to another one and are determined to go back there if we need another scan. They were wonderful!

Condo for Sale!

2007-03-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

We are praying about moving in the very near future so we have put up the condo for sale.

Here's a link to the pictures of the place. If you've been to our place before, I'm sure you'll see a bit of a difference in the den! :)

If you or someone you know is looking to buy, details are available at
www.rnbrooks.com

Condo for Sale

Wedding Photos

2007-02-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at using Picasa! These are pictures taken by family and friends.

Our Wedding Pictures

Hatch Dinner

2007-02-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from Richard's work party at the Westin Harbour Castle on Queens Quay (pronounced 'key' not 'kway') :)

It was a small, intimate affair with over 1300 people in attendance. Fortunately, the room was large enough to hold us all with lots of room to spare.

The hotel offered a special room rate for those at the party which we took. It was nice, escpecially for Richard, not to have to drive back late at night and in the freezing cold!

The views from our "panoramic" room. Rogers Centre above and the harbour/Toronto Island below. We were on the 32nd of 34 floors.

The live jazz band that played throughout the night

Wedding Pics

2007-01-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

We've received our proof book from our wonderful photographer, Peggy Baker, so we're looking forward to getting our thank you cards printed out as well as our wedding albums put together.

In the meantime, we really appreciate our friends and family sending us their pictures as well.

Here is one from our friends the Ghezzi's. (Hanniel was Richard's best man)

2007-01-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

This was the best idea while we were down there-1/2 braiding kept my hair out of my face.

Cuba Scenery

2007-01-22T17:47:00.000-05:00

Beachfront wedding
Another view from our villa, looking towards the hotel

One of the resort gardens

Cuba Pictures

2007-01-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

Breakfast outdoors by one of the pools on our first day
The view from our villa in the morning...
...and at night! The balcony was completely private and we were the only ones on our floor (top)
Just down from our resort was where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492.
A sampling of the fresh fruits available everyday. The curls hanging down are orange peels.

Long Overdue

2007-01-22T08:06:00.000-05:00

Where to begin? The last two months since we last posted an entry here have just flown by! It's hard to believe that the wedding is all over and all we have to do now is enjoy married life.

I'm going to skip Christmas and the wedding shots here as my sister-in-law has amazing pictures and a detailed description of the wedding for those of you who couldn't attend. Go to her site at www.theafricanqueen.blogspot.com . You'll have to go to "older posts" at the bottom of the screen but it's pretty clear as to which one to click on.

I will say that God is Great! We had an amazing day and were both able to enjoy the event. It was everything we prayed it would be.

I'm having trouble uploading the pictures right now, so here is a brief synopsis of the time away.

Sunday afternoon we went to Niagara Falls for two nights. We practically had the whole falls to ourselves. It was sunny and warm enough to walk for four hours as we did (twice actually!)
Tuesday afternoon we flew to Cuba for a wonderful sun filled, warm week of relaxation.

We arrived back in Toronto the following Wednesday at 1:00am to dark, cold, snowy weather. After scraping the car off we heading home and finally got into bed at 3am. The rest of the week has been sorting, packing, unpacking, cleaning and trying to get in touch with friends and family.

Richard headed back to work today and I'm settling in to my new role at home. So far, so good!

Hopefully, we'll have to pictures up soon so keep checking in!

Barrie Bachelor Bash - Hanniel & Richard

2006-11-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well since Hanniel and I are each others "best men" (Hanniel is getting married December 9th) we decided to organize a joint 'bachelor bash' and in order to involve all our Northern friends/family we held the event in Barrie. It was "almost" half way...although the 3.5 hrs for the Northern guys is in a whole different league to the 1.5 hrs that we GTA guys had to travel! Thanks to all for your attendance and for making the event a 'smashing' success! :)

Here are a few pics - Glow in the dark mini-put is a little difficult to photograph...

Then we went to the Mandarin for dinner ~ great food!

Thanks Hanniel for arranging the details! :)

...And thanks James S. for the 'history' shot...hee hee hee

We're Famous!!!!!!

2006-11-15T23:04:00.000-05:00

About a month ago I submitted the story of how Richard proposed to me to "The Knot" website which we are using for our wedding planning and guest tracking.

I signed in today and saw on the main page "Ten Best Proposal Stories of 2006" and guess what? Check it out at:
http://www.theknot.com/ch_article.html?Object=A61109180628&keywordID=166&keywordType=2&parentID=533&HPpos=4a&HPdate=20061115

Scroll down to "Seeing Things"

It's a little shorter than what I submitted and any reference to God was cut out...too bad. I'm still proud of my wonderful fiancee-he's so creative!!!!!!

Linia Rose Van Essen

2006-10-26T15:44:00.000-04:00

David is very impressed with his new sister.

Trip to Nebraska

2006-10-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

One of the many benefits of marrying Richard is that I "inherit" nephews and nieces! I was privaledged to be visiting Richard's sister and her husband when they welcomed their fifth child/second daughter.

I didn't have much time to take pictures but did get some great shots and cute videos too.

Apple picking with Grandma Van Essen.

My precious pumpkins! (Or cashew pumpkins-my pronunciation of 'precious' sounds a little strange to Timmy!)

Caleb finds the perfect apple!

The little homeboys chillin' out in the basement.

The next Hatch associate-Lily Van Essen!

Kap-Kig-Awan Park

2006-09-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

Englehart Pictures

2006-09-26T20:43:00.000-04:00

View of the property from a viewing tower built by the Kerr boys.

On top of the tower...and the world!

Englehart Pictures continued

2006-09-26T15:33:00.000-04:00

Enjoying a family games night!

View of Kap-Kig-Awan falls

Premarriage "Crash" Course

2006-09-26T13:57:00.000-04:00

Yes-we are still getting married! Why the "crash" course then? Well, we basically covered several weeks material in a week. Richard and I have been discussing and dealing with so much over the past several months that a lot of what is dealt with in premarriage counselling we've already covered...plus we're older so some issues that younger couples would deal with aren't applicable anymore.

The week away in Englehart with the Kerr family was just wonderful. Peter Kerr had graciously agreed to perform the ceremony and invited us up for the week to prepare for both the wedding and the marriage afterwards. He and his wife Dorothy spent time with us discussing marriage from a Biblical standard and gave us excercises to do both seperately and together. It was a very challenging time but also such an encouragement to both of us.

But it wasn't all work! We had a very enjoyable time outside exploring their property and an outdoor lunch/hike in Kap-Kig-Awan Provincial Park which is in Englehart.

Now, some of you may be asking, 'Where is Englehart?'. Well, Englehart is about 45 minutes north of New Liskard. For those of you asking, 'Well, where is New Liskard?' it is a few hours north of North Bay. If you don't know where North Bay is, well, it's north of Toronto by about 4 hours. Bottom line is, we were up north among moose, bears, & very kind people.

With the Kerr Family...
Richard, Peter, Kendall, Sam, Tim
Katherine, Heidi, Dorothy, Leanne
Chelsea, Bethany

More Brooks/Wilkinson Wedding Pictures

2006-09-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

The "new" Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson with
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks

Moments after the wedding...

At the reception, cutting the wedding doughnut.

Charity and Matt's Wedding

2006-09-13T17:10:00.000-04:00

This really shows how far behind we are!!!!

Charity (Richard's cousin) and Matt were married on June 10th of this year. It was a beautiful day focused on the Lord. Here a few candid shots from the event.

Last steps as Charity Brooks with her dad, Ed

This is my favourite shot...Charity and Grandpa Brooks.

Elim Lodge

2006-09-13T16:53:00.000-04:00

Back in August, we went to Elim Lodge for the weekend where my parents were staying for the week. Growing up we went almost every year. My parents continue to go and really enjoy their stay.

Elim was started years ago by the Assemblies in the area as a Christian campground. There is not much assembly involvement now, but they still have the breaking of bread service every Sunday. Until recently, everything shut down whenever there was a service going on (even during the week) and the pools, playground and lake were all off limits as an encouragement to go to the meetings which were always well attended.

There is a featured speaker every week with twice daily services as well as a featured mission. The week my parents were up the speaker was Dr. John Moore who is also a hymn writer. I think his best know hymn is "Burdens are Lifted at Calvary" which Richard tells me is a favourite in Zambia. Richard demonstrated for Dr. Moore how it is sung in Zambia(Bahdens are leeftid...) and Dr. Moore sung it as it is done in Scotland (Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdens are lifted...).

Here we are with Dr and Mrs. Moore

Photo Journal

2006-09-13T15:48:00.000-04:00

We have been so blessed to be able to offer hospitality over the past few months. Here are just a few nice shots of those times.

LIFT group-We had about 20 out that night to watch a film demonstating what happened as a result of God being removed from society's moral code. How can we say what is right without refering to and revealing the source of what is right?

Mr. Miller and Mr. Dougan from Hopedale Bible ChapelTwo of Richard's coworkers from Hatch. Both are away from their families right now who are in Brazil and the Phillipines.
Sunday evening post service get together.

Aunt Betty came out to the prayer meeting at Hopedale. She is doing incredible well- PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

2006-08-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

I've had a few people ask me over the past few weeks how the wedding plans are coming along, so I thought it would be a good idea to use this space to give an update on how things are progressing.

But first, I have to say a big thank you to my Mum who has been a big help from the beginning.Before Richard and I had decided on it as a location for the wedding, she accompanied me to the Crossroads Centre where we enjoyed a very nice lunch. After a look around the building, making observations and giving suggestions for the setup, she had a browse in the bookstore while I took pictures and a video of the location.

Just a few weeks ago we went to Staples together to have a look at stationary. Since wedding "season" is pretty well over, a lot of the supplies they have are on sale. It was great having Mum there because she is so good at math (one of the few things I did not inherit from her) so she was able to work out which was the best deal as well as how many inviations I would actually need. We also picked up some nice accessories to "pretty up" the plain invites and programmes. If you have the time, doing it yourself can be a lot cheaper. If you also have the talent that is, which I don't. But my wonderful sister-in-law to be, Rachel, does.

And now to the dress. It was so hard to find a non-strapless dress. I had an idea in mind of what I wanted but my first shopping trip yielded nothing. I had a great group come with me for support (thanks Rachel, Laura, Shiv & Sharon) and it was a great day. Although the strapless dress with feathers that the saleslady had me try on was a bit much. I do have pictures but I think I'll keep those to myself.The second store I went to was great. Mum came with me and had great success. After I described the dress I was looking for, the owner brought out four dresses, all similar to what I wanted. It was the first one I tried on that was THE one. Mum took pictures for me and chatted with the woman about alterations. I did try the others on but the first one was it. As for the look, you'll just have to wait til January 6th to see it.

Finally, shoes. After perusing snapshots of other Christmas season weddings, I saw a shot of a bride's shoes with her bouquet. I guess you have to see it to get the impact but the shoes were red and looked just beautiful with the white dress. So I decided to look for a similar pair especially since I could not justify spending the money the "bridal" shoes cost given I would just wear them for one day. Mum once again came through and found a beautiful pair which fit great but I could just not justify the price. But we did continue shopping around that day and she found a similar pair with more support for an 1/8th of the price!More to come but I think that's enough detail for now.

So...what about wedding gifts & registries?

2006-07-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

Not growing up in Canada I have had to learn a lot about traditions...but the topic of wedding gifts and "getting registered" is one we'll touch on here.

I consulted some of my "global" co-workers and discovered the following:

Chinese tradition: Bring cash or cheque to the wedding
Iranian tradition: Bring cash or gold (coins, etc.) to the wedding
Many Europeans: Bring cash gifts

And Canadians?...bring pretty much everything except "cash" - it seems that cash is viewed as "a lazy way out" or "a bachelor's gift" (he doesn't know any better). :)

Anyway we'd like to do something a little different:

1) Our official line is if you are bringing a gift then bring cash or cheque.

Rather than just asking money for ourselves we'd like to suggest the following options:
a) Everyday Publications Inc. (www.everyday.on.ca)
b) New Life Prison Ministries (www.nlpm.com)
c) Our Honeymoon

Cheques made out to either EPI or NLPM can have tax receipts issued (more details on why we'd choose them later)

2) If you prefer to bring a gift then we are registered for some "wants" (not needs):

a) The Bay (www.hbc.ca)
b) Canadian Tire (www.canadiantire.ca)
c) Rob McIntosh (www.robmcintoshchina.com)

3) Just bring a card and your smile

See the wedding website for more details: www.theknot.com/ourwedding/KatherineSmith&RichardBrooks

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

Speaking of God's spiritual gifts:

1 Peter 4:10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

When...Where...Why?

2006-05-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

OK - so after the "What?" and "Who?" questions are answered the most common "follow-up" question is: When?

Answer: January 6th, 2007 (D.V.)

Mom & Dad will be back in Canada for Christmas and December is just too busy of a time for us...so January (a week before they have to leave for Zambia) seems the best date.

The next common question is: Where?

After much deliberation we (well, to be honest, more on Katherine's part as she is much more organizationally minded than I...to say that least!) have set our planning arrangements on the Cross Roads Centre in Burlington. We wanted a "one-stop" place for both wedding and reception considering the time of year, etc...and after meeting with the managers last week we are certain that this is the place for us.

The Chapel can seat +250 people

Right "outside" the chapel is a covered courtyard where receptions and banquets are held.

Now...another question to answer: Why "Grace Proclaimers"?

Grace simplified is God giving us what we don't deserve. We deserve the full punishment for sin, but the "GRACE" of God is revealed in Jesus, in that He bore our sin in His own body on a cross (Roman execution - death sentence)...so that we who were dead in sin (all of humanity) might be made alive (spiritual life) in Him. God provided His Son, Jesus, to be put to death on a cross (the "punishment for sin is death") so that we might have life ("whoever believes on the Son has life").

We have experienced His Grace in our lives and our relationship. In retro-spect it is amazing how self-serving and self-centered we were at first and probably will be again but the Bible indicates that "the grace of God leads us to repentance" and it is our delight to proclaim that GREAT GRACE to others. "Our God does all things well"..."His work is perfect and ALL His ways are just (right)".

Basking in the sunshine of His Grace...

She said, "Yes!"

2006-04-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

April 28th, 2006

The moment of truth...

I surprised Katherine at noon at her work place (see pic) and brought her our favorite Tim Horton's Toasted Chicken club sandwich. After a quick tour of the place we proceeded to head to a "last minute" eye test appointment that I had "just managed" to arrange for her for 1 PM. She didn't think anything of it...yet... :)

We arrived at Dr. Gall's (my optometrist) on time and were met by the front office staff "just like a normal business day" and the preliminary tests were started. (they only did a few) Then Katherine was ushered into Examination Room #1 were the visual accuerty (sp?) testing continued (we needed to determine whether she would even be able to read the sign!). Then Dr. Gall's assistant indicated that there was another test that they needed to perform and she hung up my sign (see pic) and asked Katherine to read the letters as she was able. She started..."W", "I", "L", "L", "U"...that was IT...the next letters were "MARRY" and she finally "GOT IT!" ;)

I had a letter to explain the signs details and there significance to our relationship and all that the Lord has done to change us both and allow us to "see each other with new eyes!"

Well after some hyper-ventilating and (not too many) tears...mostly shock...she said "Yes..."

The Ring is 0.266 caret authentically Canadian brilliant cut diamond from the Northwest Territories.

Dr. Gall and his team, who had "made themselves scarce" came back into the picture with a bottle of champagne! I didn't arrange that, but certainly appreciated that gesture...they were so excited!

The rest of the day...

We left the eye office, sign in hand, after making a "real" appointment for Monday and made some phone calls and a couple house calls before heading to Walmart to develop some of the photo's that I had taken of the day. We immediately put them in an album so as to be able to show others what happened. Then it we headed out to the Niagara Escarpment. It was a beautiful day, with nothing but blue sky and warm sun. After a relaxing drive around Cambelville area we headed to Lovelle Park and had dinner at Lovelle Bistro. The food and service were amazing! Then a walk in the park and some photo's before heading back to Katherine's parents place to show off the ring and share our pictures.

Thank You Lord for a wonderful day!

Ps. 71:14 "But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more"

Test Run

2006-04-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

Well I give up...I guess I must "get with the times"

After all "everyone is doing it now" right? Time for us to Blog...

More to come...