4/7 of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

Over a year ago Meredith asked me if I would paint Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs in ceramics for her. So she batted her big green eyes, flashed her cute smile, and giggled. How was I suppose to say NO. So 15 months later I have finally finished my 4th dwarf and am currently working on the 5th (but will be taking a break so that I can paint something cool for the Family Reunion silent auction). So in the picture are Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, and Sneezy. I am working on Sleepy now and have Happy yet to go. Snow White is finished already...will take a picture of her with all the dwarfs when they are ALL done!

Mom's new 'bad habit'

In January I started knitting. I wasn't going to, but my kids kinda forced me into it. :) Our church has a group called The Knit Wits. They knit/crochet for charities and do a prayer shawl ministry, too. The youth in our church decided that they wanted to do this, too. I said that I would help with the group but WOULD NOT learn to knit...I didn't need another 'bad habit'. (my other 'bad habits' are quilting and encaustic wax art) Well....I learned and I love it!! I have knitted 3 toques (hats), and poncho, and am halfway done with a pair of slippers. (I have also learned how to knit dishcloths) I'm getting there. I just find it so relaxing. I am excited to keep learning new stitches and working on different projects. Christina, Shayne, and Meredith (she also does the loom) are knitting with needles and Vincent knits with a loom. They all do a good job (sorry, no pictures of their work as they haven't finished anything) except Christina has a hard time following a pattern. For example, she got the hand of increasing on her dishcloth. She was supposed in increase until she had 45 stitches on her needle, the start to DECREASE. Well, she took her knitting with her on the ski bus, when she got home she had 103 stitches. She knew what DECREASING meant..but decided to do her own thing (that's our Christina!).

So here are a few pictures of what I have knitted.

Merry Christmas

Thank your for all the gifts that gave the kids this year. They loved them!

Christmas Eve Service 2008 "The Christmas Presence"

The youth at our church did the little play "The Christmas Presence". Yes, we did the same play in Wishek in 2006. The kids did a great job. The performance was wonderful. Catherine was our 'special angel' and promptly yelled out to all of us that she could see and then started to jump up and down and had to then be taken off stage...it went better than we expected. ;) The bottom is picture is the bulletin board in 0ur church basement that the older kids did. They wanted something 3-D...I think they did a great job!

Meredith and her Spinoza Bear

The end of February Meredith was lucky to recieve a Spinoza Bear from the Creston Eastern Star and the Canadian Legion. Some of you don't know what a Spinoza Bear is...he is a large fuzzy bear with a CD player inside of him. He comes with 2 CDs that sing songs and tell stories that help children that are going through difficult times handle what is happening to them. He came with the CD player, 2 CDs, headphones, a book with the story of Spinoza, and a tote bag to carry him in. It was a very special day when she got her bear and we have had fun sharing Spinoza and his story with all of her friends. (I know the clip from the paper isn't a good one...but wanted to share it with my humble followers)

I also know that I have a lot of catching up to do on here...I finally have unloaded my cameras and will slowly start adding to the site. First the still pictures and then videos as they take longer to do! So, please, be patient with me. :)

Home from Calgary with GREAT news!

We got to Calgary at about 6pm Monday night. Checked into our hotel and promptly left to go find Boston Pizza and a movie theater. With the help of Google maps, we found both without problem! So sat down and had a wonderful quiet supper and then went and saw the Jonas Brothers 3-D concert movie. We were the only 2 in the theater! After that is was back to the hotel room and off to bed.

We got up early the next morning to have a fabulous breakfast at Denny's and met a friend of mine (and Shawn's) Liz. Had a nice visit. Then it was time for check out and head to the hospital.

First off Meredith went for her echocardiogram. The tech said that all looked o.k. as far as she saw. So now, to find her friend Travis.

We had a nice visit with Travis and his mom. They seem to be doing well. Meredith and Travis just kinda giggled at the eachother the entire time we were there. It was cute. Then we went to the cafeteria for a little lunch before her appointment with Dr. Midgley.

Dr. Midgley looked at all her lab numbers, her blood pressures, her height (she grown 3cm since September), her weight (still the same as September), her echo she had this morning, and said to keep doing what we are doing and see her again in a year! WOW!!! So she still has to take her pills every morning, and check her blood pressure every day, and have her labs drawn every 3 months, but hey! That's a good thing! So in one year it will be back to Calgary for the once over...another echocardiogram, an ultrasound of her kidneys/liver/pancreas/spleen, twenty four hour blood pressure monitor, and appointment with Dr. Midgley. (we'll have her yearly labs drawn at home before we go).

So please understand that she still has Polycystic Kidney Disease, its just that right now all things are very stable.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. They are working!

Love,
Renelle and family

Heading to Calgary tomorrow

Meredith and I will be leaving for Calgary tomorrow to go and see her doctor again. He wants her to have and echocardiogram and an appointment then to see him. So we will be off after dinner on Monday, and will be home Tuesday night. Nothing to worry about, he just wants to check things out. Her last echo in August was fine, so this one will hopefully be, too. So thoughts and prayers are appreciated. (Shawn is taking Monday afternoon off, and Tuesday, too, and will be home with the kids.)

While we are there we will be visiting one of Meredith's little hockey buddies that is in the hospital. His name is Travis Steed and was just diagnosed last week with Leukemia. His family appreciates all prayers. He has started chemo and is doing well.

Will keep you updated by email, blog,and facebook, too.

Love,
Renelle