Finally finished

Well it took a while, but with all the busyness of our lives, I have finally been able to finish the pants that I started knitting for Hailey. I felt a little guilty for taking so long so I quickly knit up a hat to go with it. I still have enough wool left for some mittens so if I can find a pattern maybe I'll do that as well. Laura (I'm so proud of her) has already finished 2 pairs and is well on the way to a third pair. Hailey will certainly be nice and warm this winter.

A day out with the girls

We went to visit with Laura and Jay on the weekend. Jay had his surgery and is recovering. He is in alot of pain right now and the medication that he is taking does not appear to sit well with him. Poor Jay, we all need to hold him up in our prayers. Laura is doing well although she is tired from all the work of taking care of Jay, not sleeping well and looking after the girls. Ralph and I took Jordan and Hailey out on Saturday to "Build a Bear". We not it might be a nice diversion for Jordan and give Laura and Jay a time to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep. We won't be in St. Thomas for Jordan's birthday, so we treated her to a new Bear. She got to pick out which bear and outfit she liked. Her bear's name is Lucy. It was really cute to see how well she interacted with people while the bear was being made. Hailey was a little angel. When she wasn't sleeping she would quietly watch what was going on.

Family from Holland

On Monday evening, the family got together to enjoy dinner and say "farewell" to Oom Gerrit and Mill who were visiting from Holland. It was a very nice visit and nice to see how well Oom Gerritt is doing. We had a wonderful time together. I can't believe it's been 25 years since he last visited. In that time, Laura was born (I was expecting her then, has been married and has 2 children). It's amazing how fast the time goes.

A day at the Fair

It was forecasting to be a "hot day" as we (Ralph, Anne, Ron and I) packed up to go to the Erin Fair. True to the forecast the weather turned out to be quite warm. It was a beautiful day and unseasonably warm. We enjoyed the fair and went on to Erin for a nice lunch at the local tea room. For the first time in many years, we did not pick apples or make apple pie. We have 5 in the freezer that Ralph purchased from Timothy Christian school. I'm sure that we will be fine with that. I made two pumpkim pies to supplement the apple pies. Unfortunately Ralph doesn't like Pumkin, but I thought they tasted delicious!!

The big move

Well today was the big day. Mom and Dad are moving. We got up early in the morning in anticipation of a nice and delicious breakfast at Jim and Debbies. Mmmm it was good. Everyone was in good spirits and ready to pack everything up and get it to the new apartment. Off we headed to the garage where everything was stored. Just as we started, the sky's began to rumble. We were in for a big storm. We were lucky though, everything stayed dry while we were loading up the truck.

Off we went to Tolendale. As soon as we got there the rain started. Not much at first, but it got progressively heavier and heavier. The girls were lucky as they were able to stay inside while the boy's unloaded the truck. They got soaked!!

Eventually the sun came out and we had an opportunity to walk the grounds. Tolendale is a beautiful seniors residence. I think Mom and Dad will be very happy here.

Delicious Carrot Cake

A couple of weeks ago I made this awesome carrot cake. Everyone raved about it so I thought I would share the recipe. It comes from a bookstore called - Tequila Bookworm and they serve it there at their coffee shop.



Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting



3 cups flour

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups corn oil or canola

4 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/3 cup pureed carrots (cooked)

3/4 cup grated carrots



Cream Cheese Frosting



8 oz cream cheese at room temperature

6 tbsp unsalted butter

3 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Juice of half a lemon





1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Grease two 9 inch square or round pans (or buntt pan)

3. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Add oil, eggs and vanilla and beat well with an electric mixed. Fold in pureed carrots and grated carrots (not for pureed, you can also use baby food to save time).

4. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until edges have pulled away from the sides. Let cool for 3 hours before icing.

5. To make cream cheese frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer. Slowly add icing sugar and beat until smooth. Mix together vanilla and lemon juice and add just enough for the frosting to be of spreading consistency. Smooth over sides and top of cake.

Enjoy!!

Creative Memories Retreat

Teresa and I enjoyed a great weekend at the Erin Country Inn and worked on our Scrapbooking Album. We attended a 3 day retreat where all you had to do was think about how you were going to set up your next page. It was a small group, but we sure had fun!!