Signs of Spring

Most of the time, I find squirrels to be a real nuisance, but in the spring I smile and thank them for the pockets of treasures that come up in the garden.  I find these lovely surprises all over the property, from crocus to snowdrops to tulips.  This year is no exception.  Popping out, inbetween the dull brown colour of the garden is the vibrant colour of yellow's, purples and white.

I love spring!

Down and out

Ever have those weeks?  Well, it's been one for me.  I have been down with the flu/cold since Wednesday. I went home early and slept away most of the day. On Thursday I made the mistake of going back into work and then visiting with my Mom.  I should have known better, but I hate to miss the visit with my Mom.  I stayed in bed all day Friday again.  Today, I've been up for most the day, but feel feverish now and I have a major sinus infection. Ralph and I spent the day shopping for tile for our bathroom (renovations are on the horizen) and then Teresa and I paid a vist to Izod (Friends and family weekend).  I think I'm paying for this activity now. Hopefully it won't last too long.

I really do dislike not feeling well!

Meeting Opapa and Omama

Jordan and Opapa

To help differentiate the great grandparents from the grandparents, we call Ralph's Dad and my Mom a slightly different name.  Opa Helmus is called Opapa and Oma vanBolhuis is called Omama.  It's easy for the girls to know who we are referencing.  This Easter weekend, Laura and Jay and the family came to visit and introduce Brody to his Opapa and Omama. It was so beautiful to see how they responded to meeting their great grandchild.  He certainly received a lot of love this weekend.  We all really enoyed the Easter weekend sharing it with family.

Brody - meet your Opapa

Ralph's Dad just loved holding him.



Brings back memories for my Mom

Look how long Brody is getting. 

Meet Aunt Sandra

Grandchildren

Aren't grandchildren beautiful.  We have been blessed with 3 beautiful treasures. Each one of them is precious to us. We feel truly blessed by God. 

Our new grandson

Today we spent the day in St. Thomas visiting with Laura, Jay, Jordan, Hailey and our new grandson Brody.  We arrived in the morning and took the girls out for lunch at Boston Pizza.  This allowed Jay some quiet time with Laura before we all came for our visit.  We arrived at the hospital around 2:30 and spent the next couple of hours getting to know Brody.  What a beautiful baby.  He is a very calm and quiet boy.  His cry is very soft but he settles very easily.  It feels so nice to hold him in our arms.  The girls are over the moon and and want to hold him all the time.  I think Laura has many eager Brody sitters waiting to help out.  It's amazing how quickly you feel the love grow in  your heart for this little one.  We feel truly blessed by God.

Getting a closer look

Brody has a little jaundice but it isn't bad.

Proud Oma!

Happy sister.

Laura looks really good.

When can I hold him?

Proud daddy with his family.

Three generations.... Jerry, Jay and Brody

Surprise visit

 How nice to have a surprise visit on Sunday afternoon by Laura, Jay and the girls.  it was so nice to see them again as we haven't been together since early January.  Laura is only 4 days away from delivering her "little man" as she affectionately calls the baby.  The girls are really excited that he will be here soon.

The Golf show

It was a day for seeing TV personalities.  First we met Michael Breed - from the golf channel. He was really nice and we were able to get a photo with him.  This was while we were waiting for the gate to open. 

The show itself was fun.  We met "Lisa", the girl that I have been dealing with for our PEI vacation.  She was a very interesting person and very helpful. We walked away with all sorts of ideas for places to see, eat and golf.  We're going to check out a "lobster" fishing boat and dinner ride. It sounded like it might be really fun.

We picked up a few packages again this year.  We got the 4 day pass to Coppercreek and Peninsula Lakes which is becoming our yearly weekend away.  As well we picked up a 5 day Ontario Tee-time pass with golf at Wooden Sticks, Cardinal, Pines of Georgina, South Muskoka and Deer Creek North.  It's going to be a busy summer and we're looking forward to it.  As part of the show we were able to get a free round of golf in late April at Tangle Creek. We've golfed here before and we think it will be a fun way to start the year.

After the show we went for dinner at a place on King St called Nawlins Jazz Bar and Restaurant.  The food was really good and we all enjoyed ourselves.  While walking there we saw Kevin O'Leary from Dragens Den.