The holidays are almost here!?!?

It's hard to believe that it's December and we started decorating the house for Christmas today....didn't school just start?  Time seems to be flying by, certainly the last few months and the last year for that matter.  We seem to be keeping ourselves busy, mostly good busy with some challenging stuff mixed in along the way, thus the lack of a posting for a while.

The fall has seen a lot happen - Jen's been to middle school camp and choir camp, I've been to Toronto for a week long conference, choir is in full swing with one concert behind us and another coming up, both kids are in the school choir and have been to Choralfest and are preparing for the school Christmas concert, Christmas piano recital was last week, we closed up the lake, curling has resumed for the kids and Kris has started hockey, I seem to have been taking a lot of training courses (that time of the year) and even presented part of one, Grandma's visited us each month for a few days each time (took in Grandparents chapel, hockey, curling and whatever else was happening) and will be back again soon, the kids joined me for the Recognition dinner when I received my FCA certificate, we spent a long weekend in Minneapolis (shopped and visited cousins), had cousins in to visit from Montreal and managed to make it to work and school on a regular basis (and based on the first term report cards and teacher conferences school is pretty normal and going well).  Wow - no wonder why I'm tired!

It's also been challenging at times - November is one of the big months for remembering things over the last few years - between the 21st and the 24th we had the anniversaries of Karen's seizure and hospitalization last year and her initial diagnosis three years ago.  Our trip to Minneapolis earlier that month was our first time back there since our last trip with Karen just before her diagnosis at a time when we were starting to begin to notice something was not quite right.  Each of us deals with all of this differently and it's sometimes difficult to always be able to support each other the right way while dealing with your own emotions at the same time....we all try to remain patient with each other and find our way through.

Today we were the readers/candle lighters for the Advent candle at church and after a quick lunch we went to Chapel Lawn for Christmas cookie decorating and a Holiday memorial service - it was much smaller than the Mother's Day one we attended in May but we were glad we went none the less.  I passed on the office Christmas party on Friday - not quite ready for that kind of event solo just yet.

I still follow the blog that inspired this one (a man with a brain tumour and his wife we met at CancerCare) - he passed away 2 years ago but like us, his wife maintains the blog.  Her latest posting struck a familiar cord with me - she also experiences many milestones in the fall each year and wrote about her feelings - check it out at http://ramsyshannonunruh.blogspot.com.  I also visited last week with another client/friend who lost her husband to a brain tumour last year.  Both that visit and the blog posting helped me know my experiences this fall have been pretty "normal".  It's good to have these supports and reference points as we find our way.

I need to thank all our friends who help out and check in regularly - whether it's helping get the kids off to school when I have an early meeting, chauffeuring from choir, going for lunch and letting me bend their ear, making a regular phone call to check on me, planning get togethers including the kids for a fun dinner/evening or just the check ins to see how we are doing - it's all appreciated more than you know.

The kids will likely have more to say so hopefully we'll get another posting up soon as the holiday season moves along

Thanks again for all the support and caring.  I hope everyone has a happy holiday season and we'll see or talk to you soon!

Love
Doug and the gang

School starting....again

Sorry we disappeared off the face of the earth....again.  We've had a good, busy summer and just haven't had time to update you.  We thought we'd share some of our highlights of the summer with you...so here goes:

First Kris:
- going to Montreal and going ziplining
- going to Camp Assiniboia
- paddle boarding on the lake at Mont Tremblant
- seeing many of my cousins
- trying to go wakeboarding (not for me this year)
- going to MiniU
- going to the Canada Day parade at the lake
- pier jumping
- playing soccer
- going to the science centre in Montreal
- going to the orthodontist...NOT!

Now Jen:
- bungee jumping
- art camp
- rock climbing (lots)
- swimming
- shopping
- everything at camp Assiniboia
- ziplining (also more than once)
- sleepovers
- water skiing
- seeing Les Mis
- my birthday!!!

And last but not least... Dad!!!!
- relaxing on the beach or by a pool
- visiting with family and friends
- eating the strawberry pies Jen and Kris both made
- getting out in the boat
- tending to the yards and gardens (sort of successfully?)
- BBQ's
- not having to make school lunches
- successfully avoiding the media when they camped out on our street (nothing else happy about that story)
- going ziplining
- eating bagels on a patio at a Montreal street fair
- finding out last week that I've been elected as an FCA (used to think only old CA's got those!)

So all in all not a bad summer - we had a lot of fun and saw a LOT of our family and friends which was great!  Now the kids are back to school and all the activities will be starting up soon.

Thanks as always for all your thoughts and prayers - we appreciate it!

Love,
Kris, Jen and Doug

It's summer!

We made it!  School is out and we are back from a week at the lake, just the three of us for the most part.

We survived June and celebrated Jen's birthday with early dismissal on the last day of school. The report cards were good, especially considering all that happened in the last term.  We will miss the daily interaction and support from everyone at school over the summer but we know where to find you all if we need you.  We were also touched by some year end tributes to Karen that will make sure her spirit lives on in that place she loved and spent so much time.

We headed off to the lake for some R&R and took in the local Canada Day festivities and spent some time with friends and family (and celebrated Jen's birthday too). For the rest of the week we were mostly on our own, enjoying some great weather and spending lots of time in the water or out on the boat (remember it was last July that Karen made me turn around on the highway and go back and look at the boat she knew I wanted and then made sure I bought it).  All in all the week was great and we enjoyed being at the lake but it was also the first time we'd really had a chance to spend an extended time together just the three of us without things to do and at times that took a bit of getting used to but I think we are finding our way.

This week the kids are off to MiniU and I'm back at work hoping to clean up some of the piles in my office and hopefully get some contractors back to work on our office renovations....do they know I'm not always as patient as I once was?

That's about it for now. We are hoping the nice weather keeps up and plan on making time to enjoy it.  We also plan on spending time with friends and family so hopefully we'll see you soon!

Thanks as always for your kind thoughts and prayers
Love
Doug and the gang

Almost summer

June seems to be flying by and we haven't had time to post an update...sorry about that.

This month has been birthday party month (5 down now I think) as it usually is and this weekend was our turn, Jen had her sleepover on Friday night and Kris had his pool party this evening.  We seem to have survived and the kids had some fun but there was no mistaking someone was missing.  Apparently Karen did teach us enough about organizing a party to make it work though.  We have one more friend's party to go on Thursday for Jen, and her actual birthday as well then I think it will be summer.

On top of that we've had soccer (the Grizzlies made it to the win column this week and Kris got a couple more goals), school field trips, exams for the middle schooler and various other recitals and such.  The kids both came home from their track and field day with ribbons and they made Father's Day special for me despite the challenges of the day.  The trips to the lake have been brief ones to cut grass and plant flowers and we now have some flowers in the gardens at home too.  There has also been lots to do at work but we seem to be getting there.

Thanks as always to everyone who helps out so we can do what we need to do and get where we need to go - I won't mention names so I don't miss anyone but you know who you are.

School wraps up on Friday along with a bunch of deadlines for the accountant at work so I think we'll be able to finally enjoy some quiet time and enjoy summer together soon.

Thanks to all who keep us in your thoughts and prayers - after two months we still face lots of challenges but knowing we have many people supporting us helps us along.

Love
Doug and the gang

Go Foofighters!

It's been a couple of weeks and we have a few updates.

Sunday was the annual Spring Sprint for the Brain Tumour Foundation.  We started participating in 2011 and continued the tradition in memory of Karen this year.  We have lots of thank you's as our team was 20 people strong and we have raised over $5,300 (which brings us to over $15,000 for the three years!). The kids and I are so blessed to be surrounded and supported by so many wonderful people!  Thanks!

The kids also gave me a big birthday celebration last week...thanks to Shari, Cathy and Grandma for the assistance with the cake and shopping - the kids really appreciated the help and I really enjoyed it all.  Thanks again!

School is slowly winding down with more field trips and track and field days and less homework.  Soccer is in full swing.  We've started planning our summer and if the weather would cooperate more we could get some more gardening and yard work done.

That's about it for now.  Thanks again for all the love and support and regular checking in on us. We really appreciate it all

Love
Doug and the gang

Back to the lake

Two years ago we returned to our cottage with a sense of renewal - after a challenging six months, Karen was feeling a lot better and going to the lake meant going somewhere that she had never been sick.  For two summers, she maintained that stable health situation and last fall we closed up in the normal way unaware of what lay ahead.

This weekend, we entered that time gap again and returned again to a place where the last six months hadn't happened but of course it was different this time.  Things that have become part of the new normal at home were in our face at the lake....the empty place at the table or the hook with no towel in the bathroom, and of course there was the time spent cleaning up Karen's gardens to allow for the new life starting to grow.  All in all, though it was good to be there, to visit with our summer neighbours, be close to Bob and Cathy, and enjoy some time with Maria and Lisa who were visiting nearby.

The kids had no school Friday so we ventured out together to Super Store (I hate Super Store) and did the annual open the cottage shopping spree (knowing we had to go to that store for the best prices on the supplies we needed).  It was a successful, cooperative trip (which was good for two kids who normally hate grocery shopping) then after Kris' swimming lessen and supper we headed off to the lake.  They were also both a huge help unpacking when we got there then off to bed.  Over the weekend, with the help of our friends, we got most of the opening up routine done, mostly in dry conditions, so things are ready to enjoy when the weather finally cooperates.

The past week was pretty quiet, lots of soccer, a choir audition and the regular stuff - almost anticlimactic actually and the coming week should be fairly calm too - more soccer and Festival of the Arts at school along with the regular work and school.

Thanks to everyone who checks in on us regularly, it really is appreciated.  I hope the posts are keeping you regular readers up to date.

Take care and enjoy your week!
Doug and the gang

Mother's Day

Another day and another one of those "firsts" we will keep encountering.  This one actually turned out to be not too bad.  There was the usual apprehension as the day approached but as with last week, the lead up was worse than the day.  The bonus in it all was that today was the first day in weeks that we could actually sleep in and not have to get going anywhere in the morning and we definitely took advantage of that part to catch up on some sleep and have a relaxing weekend breakfast at home.  We did the cemetery circuit, first to my Mom's then Karen.  I heard somewhere that this day is the busiest one of the year at cemeteries and based on the traffic at the two we visited that seems to be true.  There was a nice service at Karen's and a balloon release and flowers.  There was definitely comfort to be taken from all the other people, both young and old also visiting and taking part.  After we went to Grandma's for supper with the family.

The week was another busy one with it's own ups and downs.  The kids both experienced some cough and cold stuff through the week but seem to be on the mend now.  Kris had his school Spring Concert Thursday which was great and he was the lead guy in the 4 headed monster!  Jen and I attended her art show reception at the local MLA's office Friday, along with Auntie B!  Kris and I did our best to keep from freezing at the Physiofit 5 km run Saturday morning (run can be defined as brisk walking at my age and I still beat some of the 3 km walkers so I figure I did OK!)  Jen completed one of her babysitting course practicum sessions with her favourite babysitter's kids.  The rest of the week was the usual school and work stuff.

That's about it for now - thanks to everyone who has checked in on us this weekend (and throughout the week). It's nice to know you are there for us

Take care and I hope you all remembered your Moms today, wherever they might be

Thanks again for all the love and support!
Doug and the gang