Count your blessings, name them one by one...

It’s New Year’s Eve. That means 365 days have gone by since I last sat with a glass of wine and plate of munchies and blogged the incidents and accidents that weave together to create intricate picture that is the lives of Albert and Liana. I present to you now the 2015 thumbnail of the masterpiece still in production.

 As I often do on December 31^st, I reread my annual review letters that I have posted since 2007. One can’t help but conclude that we are truly blessed beyond measure. And it’s good to be reminded of these blessings before launching into a review of a year in which one is blindsided once again with loss.

January had us celebrating our 33^rd anniversary apart as I was in Kamloops and then Portland for a 2-week period playing the role of granny nanny for Beatrice. What a great way to initiate my shiny new first-ever passport.

Amazing how fast they grow. 

We had a remarkably mild winter last year which caused some initial concern for the Canada Winter Games. But with the exception of the speed skating tracks being relocated to Ft St John, Prince George did a fantastic job of hosting the nation. And if you don’t count Jed getting arrested one evening and spending his first night in jail, I was pretty proud to call PG home during this period.

Jed had full passes to the sporting events and took in a lot of the action. Albert and I participated in the festivities, concerts and food trucks. We enjoyed fireworks shows which were clearly visible from our back deck. I could even stand in the hall and watch out the back window.

Indulging at the poutine food truck during Canada Winter Games

  

They had the most amazing photo booths at the Winter Games. 

At the beginning of March, Jed and I headed off on a Texas adventure, taking Aunty Connie and Aunty Barbee with us. It had been 20 years, just about to the day, since Connie and I last visited Jennifer at her home. Sad but true. I blame it on the passport requirements.

All buckled up for our first lift off

We had a great time in Texas and I even managed to put on my big girl panties and do a couple of firsts. I ate alligator. Yes, alligator. And yes, I voluntarily ordered it from the menu. And you guessed it, it tastes like chicken –but rubberier in texture. I also tried zip lining. Zipping the lines at Whistler is still on my bucket list, but I am one step closer to being brave enough to attempt it.

That is a grimace of terror. The girl behind is laughing cuz she may have just heard an f-bomb with a Canadian accent. 

At the end of March, Brandi brought Beatrice and my Dad to Prince George and I babysat Bea while she took some training at a denture clinic here. It was great to celebrate Dad’s upcoming 75^th birthday with all his great grandchildren. Before arriving he specifically requested that we make sure and get a photo of him with all the greats. This was slightly out of character for him, but we were starting to get used to him doing out of character things in the two years since we lost Mom.

Landon, Jesslynne, Xander, Maeve, Great Grandpa, Beatrice, Joseph

Jed moved into a homeshare program at the beginning of April. He is living with Devin, a single dad, and his 7-year-old daughter, Shayne. While there have been a few issues, as life with Jed will always include, we really couldn’t have hoped or asked for a better situation for him. We are so thankful to God for Devin and his patience and acceptance and it is our continued prayer that things will only continue to get better.

After putting very few kilometers on Betty, the Goldwing, over the last couple of years, we decided she and we would be better served if we found a new home for her. In April we delivered her to Coquitlam and picked up Felix, our new-to-us side-by-side in Kamloops on the way home. (Doesn’t everyone name their vehicles?)

While in Kamloops we stayed with Dad and celebrated his 75^th birthday on April 11 with him.

Goodbye Betty

Hello Felix

In May, Barbee, Jed and I once again walked the survivor lap at Relay for Life. While I still donned my head-to-toe pinkness, this was the first year we did not participate as our Pink Panter relay team.

We are so thankful to be counted among the survivors of this terrible disease. This year marks seven-year survivorship for me and five years for Jed. Barbee is still battling hard and I am so proud to call her my bff. 

Doing laps with Elvis

Victory lapping. 

Right after Relay I  headed down to Kamloops with my good friend Darlene to spend a few days just hanging out with Beatrice, Brandi and my Dad.

One of Bea's final photos with Great Grandpa. They had an almost daily relationship. He was so good to her and she renewed his zest for life and brought joy to his days. 

At the end of May, Albert and I headed to Vancouver Island to spend some time nannying Beatrice in Parksville and then hanging out in a vacation house in Tofino. We celebrated Brandi’s birthday in style with a week of seafood, sand and sights.  

One of several magazine-worthy meals prepared by chefs Kore and Jason. 

Hanging out on Long Beach

Cruisin'' on the ferry

On the way to the island, we also got to spend some time with Jack and Barb for this first time in years. It was great to catch up and it’s amazing how it was as if 30 years hadn’t passed.

While on the island we also got to spend a day and a half with our dear friends Maureen & Darryl. This was a bittersweet time as we knew it would be our last visit with Darryl, who lost his heroic 7-year battle with cancer in September.

It was our intention to stop in to spend the night with Dad on the way home from the island on June 3^rd but we were making good time and we had been gone from home for nearly two weeks. Because I had just been to Kamloops the week before our Island vacation and Dad was going to spend a week in Prince George with Jennifer and Andy at the end of June, we opted to just carry on home. We will never know the answers to “shoulda, woulda, coulda” but a part of me will always regret that decision.

Because Albert was still on vacation time, we spent one day and night at home before picking up Jed and heading out to the cabin at Vivian Lake, where 2015 was shaping up to be a banner year. The ice was off the lake a month early, and camping season had started by the middle of April.

Friday afternoon, June 5^th, Albert got a phone call that would bring my world crashing down to lay in splinters at my feet. Within the hour we were headed to Kamloops where Brandi and Kore had found my Dad on the floor after a major stroke. Time is the greatest enemy for stroke victims and we will never know what the outcome might have been had we diverted to Kamloops that fateful night of June 3.

Connie also arrived in Kamloops that night and Jennifer bumped her flight up a couple of weeks and arrived the next day. The boys both live in Kamloops, and we all spent the next 5 days saying goodbye to our father and releasing him to enter eternity with Mama and Jesus. On June 11^th their union was complete. We laid him to rest, together with Mama, on June 19, the day before Father’s Day. And yet again I found myself public speaking as I had the privilege of honouring my Dad by delivering the eulogy.  

The 5 Little Orphans. Okay, not so little orphans. 

As co-executor with Brandi, I spent the rest of June and a good part of July in Kamloops while Albert held down the fort here in PG. There were a lot of A&W mozza burgers on the menu over the summer for the poor guy.

I missed Xander’s kindergarten graduation while Dad was in the hospital. I’m so thankful for technology that allowed me to witness from afar.

Proud of his Kindergarten Grad certificate

Jennifer and Andy came, as originally planned, to Vivian Lake for the week surrounding Canada Day. It was a nice break from dealing with the estate, however I found it difficult because Dad was supposed to be there with us.

We spent more time in Kamloops during August celebrating Beatrice’s first birthday and continuing to work through the affairs of the estate. Through all the comings and goings and travel back and forth, we spent as much time as possible at the lake enjoying a summer of super fabulous weather. If it wasn’t for the boarder living in our suite, our poor home probably would have looked completely abandoned all summer. But as it was my flower gardens looked better than they ever have and they bloomed well in to November. Yes, November. Here in PG. Unheard of, I know.

As great as it was to have a live-in gardener and care taker, she gave notice and moved out of town by the end of August. We had a few people inquire about taking over the suite but we have opted for now to keep the space for ourselves. And while that extra little chunk of change was nice at the beginning of each month, it has been really great having the extra room in our little house that still stores most of the contents of Jed’s apartment (which we are slowly weeding through) as well as the truckloads of inheritance I managed to haul home with each trip from Kamloops over the summer.

The resort at Vivian Lake was host to Woofstock Music Festival in late August. The event got off to a late start for advertising and met with some mishandled management as well as being held on the only rainy weekend we had all summer long. This is unfortunate, as the music line up was fantastic, but the event was very poorly attended. As seasonally permanent residents out there we had weekend passes and, despite the weather, had a really good time. 

A quiet moment on the dock listening to the music in the distance

Hangin' out with my friend Patti and the band Chilliwack

In September our little Maeve Liliana started at Cedars Preschool and Xander entered grade one, although he leaves the classroom for Math which I believe is gr 2-3. His reading and comprehension were recently tested and he comes in at a solid grade 5 level, and his teacher suspects it’s more like grade 6. Socially he is actually a bit young for his age so there is a bit of a disconnect there that keeps the teachers challenged. 

Our smart little 3-yr-old already shows signs of being a good reader, loves drawing, is very social and quite opinionated about fashion. 

Probate was granted in September, and from all reports from others, this was extraordinarily quick. For this we thank God (and Chris, our lawyer who just may have shown us a bit of favouritism). We got Dad’s house listed and signed a 6-month contract with an agent we are slightly less than pleased with. As of now the house is still listed and sitting empty with 6 weeks left on our contract with the agent. Here’s to a sale soon or a better relationship with a new agent come February.

We joined the ranks of the new generation and cancelled our landline in September – mostly due to my lack of patience and tolerance for political lobbyists who seemed to think they needed to contact us daily to ask how we were voting.

We had another quick trip to Van Isle in September to celebrate our friend Darryl who left behind a legacy of life and example of how to do relationships; how to repair them and how to sustain them.

At the end of October, I took a 3-week job nannying for Ray and Jesse as she recovered from surgery. It was great to get to know their sweetest little girls, aged 3 and 5. And I even survived the 7am-get-dressed-and-leave-the-house mornings.

November 5^th my grass was still green and my flowers were blooming. This is really an incredible feat for us here in the north.

Yes, this is November in Prince George.

Sometime during November, Ken and Jade had a developer knock on their door and ask if he could buy their house. He agreed to pay more than the house was worth and it was really a great opportunity to get into a bigger house that they couldn’t refuse.

They found a house with a quick possession available and spent their first night in it on Dec 23. They handed over the keys this afternoon and so ends the era of the wee shack down the street. While I am certainly going to miss having them just 6 doors down, I cannot begrudge them the chance to move on up, and will have to accept the 10-minute drive. At least they are not up the Hart. Or way off in Kamloops. 

On November 24 Connie and I headed to Vernon to visit with Grandpa Cutting who was in the hospital and not doing well. The next day, November 25^th, he left his weary 93-year-old body behind and took his quick wit and sharp mind with him as he entered the gates of heaven. Our hearts break for Grandma, yet we rejoice with him as he receives his eternal reward for a life well lived. Once again I found myself in front of a grieving crowd, public speaking on behalf of all the Cutting Cousins. Oi. This is so not my cup of tea, and I stumbled my way through reading my notes only to realize a couple of hours later that I had forgotten to put my glasses on.  

By the middle of December our grass was still green, although the flowers had become frost bitten, and I began to dream in earnest of a green Christmas along with a nicely finished new main bathroom and pantry that Albert had been working diligently on for weeks. The green did not happen. But the bathroom and pantry did so it’s all good. We currently sit under about 12 inches of snow. It’s pretty but it’s still snow.

The bathroom is small but completely functional and allows for a large pantry. 

This room brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart. I love it! It even fits an upright freezer. 

It was so awesome to have Brandi, Kore and Beatrice come stay for a week over Christmas. And it was great having the extra space in the empty suite to fit everyone in. It was my intention to have Jed come and stay here for the holidays but he opted to stay at his home with Devin and just day-trip to our house. I cannot express how much this blessed my heart. Not only for the extra peace :) but it really shows how settled he is at Devin’s and that it really is ‘home’ for him. 

So very blessed by these three little wonders of delight whose personalities are so varied and unique.

We had so much to be thankful for in 2015. Even in a year of great loss, the blessings always always always far outnumber the heartache, and we are expecting the same for 2016.

Peace and love to you all – each of whom we count among the blessings.  

Grandpa One Eye

My name is Liana, and as the oldest granddaughter I am elected to represent the 23 grandchildren in honouring Grandpa today.

I have a few memories and stories to share with you.

A few years ago, we were having a bbq at Grandpa and Grandma’s. Grandpa had grilled up some burgers and we were sitting at the table in the back yard visiting and enjoying the feast.

Grandma had gone inside to make more ice tea or something. I looked across the table during a moment of silence to see Grandpa staring at me with tears rolling down his face. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I asked, “Are you okay Grandpa?”

“Oh honey, you look exactly like I last remember my mother. You are about the age she was when she died.”

Awk-ward.

However, I have to say, that even in the awkward moment, I have never in my life been so proud… of my varicose veins, this hump on the back of my neck, my hanging bottom lip, and this double chin. (I somehow managed to miss out on the boisterous laugh – maybe it didn’t come from the Watterworth genes.)

My sisters and I were reminiscing the other day and recalling going to a Kiddie Land Park when we went to visit in Regina. It might as well have been Disneyland to us kids from the boonies. Grandpa opened his wallet and handed each of us a FIVE dollar bill. An incredible amount of money to us in the early 70s. But it taught us what a generous man our grandfather was.

Most who know our family, probably know we didn’t celebrate Christmas when we were young children. The first time we remember receiving Christmas gifts was 1973, just after Grandma Margaret passed away. It seemed to us Grandpa sent one of everything in the Sears Christmas Wish Book.

Again, solidifying in our minds the generosity of our Grandpa. And through the years this generosity of both Grandpa and Grandma Gloria has continued, as they faithfully remember the special days and events of all – generation after generation after generation. What a heritage of blessing we have been given.

What a treat it was for me in 2009 to present my grandson to my grandfather and get a 5 generation photo.

Grandpa graduated to heaven on November 25^th – Jennifer’s 45^th birthday. When her birthday card arrived, signed in Grandpa’s handwriting, with his legendary smiley face in the “G”, she was beyond thrilled to realize she probably got his last written card.

….

The following note comes from Laura:

Today is a sad day for us, saying goodbye to Grandpa. But today is also a day to remember that his love for our Lord Jesus Christ shone through him. We all know where he is and that he is happy.

Grandpa, or as my children called him, "one eyed Grandpa", always had a gleam in his eye and such quick wit with his humour.

That is one thing that he passed on to his children, and through the generations: a sense of humour, although quirky, and a tremendous laugh to go with it. You know when you are at a Cutting reunion because the laughter is intense and loud!

Grandpa and Grandma came to my wedding in 1993 in Calgary. One of the regrets I have in my life, is that our Best Man drove too quickly to the pictures, and Grandma and Grandpa couldn't keep up, and they never made it to the pictures.

But luckily, we were able to spend many more years with Grandpa. 

Grandpa enveloped Darryl, he took him in and treated him no differently than he did the rest of the family. This was a great comfort for myself and Darryl. There were times that Darryl even called and asked Grandpa advise. 

When our children were younger, we would vacation in the Okanagan Valley and always loved our visits with Grandpa and Grandma.  They were both always so happy to see us and enjoyed seeing our children grow up. 

This past June, I went with my parents to Uncle Ed's funeral in Kamloops. After the funeral, we all gathered at Uncle Ed's home and we visited for a few hours.

Eventually the cameras came out and everyone had their picture taken with Grandpa and Grandma. It took quite a while to get through the picture - this is not a small family. 

At the end of all the picture taking, I helped Grandpa to his feet. I said to him "Look at what you created! If it wasn't for you, none of us would be here". He looked around the room, then back to me. He had a tear rolling down his face and he smiled. He couldn't speak. It was a beautiful moment and I will never forget it.  I am so glad I was able to spend that time with him in June. 

You were a wonderful man, Grandpa, and I know that all of us love you deeply.

I will see you again one day!

Love always,

Laura

…

I also have a note from Nastasha to share with you, that blesses my heart more than I can say:

George Harvey Cutting was better known as "Grandpa One-Eye" to me, a title he wore proudly and had great fun with.

I am sure none of us will forget him teasing us with the toy eye ball at the family reunion at Aunt Jean and Uncle Ted's. ……( I dunno, Nastasha, I’m not 100% convinced it was a toy)……

I always looked forward to family vacations west to visit him and Grandma Gloria. There were raspberries to pick and always crafts to be made. I will never forget how terrified of that bear skin rug I was; fearing it would somehow come to life while I was sitting on it.

I have these wonderful memories to hang on to always, but none of them compares to the peace and joy we brought to each other recently without speaking a word to one another. 

Grandpa had incredible faith in the Lord and walked his journey on this Earth hand in hand with Jesus.

Two words that didn't enter my life until recently (the past year or so) are “God” and “Jesus.” On my spiritual journey to finding the truth in Christ, there were many ups and downs; all of which the Lord guided me and carried me through.

After spending much time studying God's word, I began asking questions about baptism. Eventually the holy spirit provided me with answers to my questions and I was baptized into Christ in August.

My mom told Grandpa and Grandma of my decision to be baptized while she was visiting them in October. When my birthday rolled around in mid November I received the usual card and letter. This time the letter read how over joyed they were to hear I had given my life to Christ and that it was an answer to fervent and frequent prayer.

I contemplated picking up the phone and calling to thank them for the uplifting note; as many people had removed themselves from my life upon me becoming a Christian. But life was busy and I never made that phone call.  

Later I was informed of Grandpa being in the hospital.  I finally picked up the phone and called, only being able to speak with Grandma. But it was enough to hear her tell me of the joy it brought Grandpa (and her) to know I had come to find Jesus, and Grandpa’s fervent prayer was not in vain.

But being the man of faith he was, he knew it was not in vain; "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers." - 1 Peter 3:12

He knew God would answer when it was His will and the time was right. 

It brings me great happiness and peace to know that I could bring Grandpa such joy with one decision, and to know he was proud of me and the new path I have chosen to walk. This I will always hang on to.

It does not make me sad to know he has moved on because its not "good - bye", it's just "see you later." For I know he has received eternal life and is only asleep in Christ. I will see him again at the coming of the Lord. 

"Brothers and sisters we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus, those who have fallen asleep in Him.

According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive and are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

 Therefore, encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

So I, Nastasha encourage you all with these words; and I encourage you to seek out the truth.

Grandpa would not want us to grieve and mourn, but to rejoice that he has moved on from this world and that we will be reunited with him again through Christ someday.

Woofstock Music Festival

As you all probably know, we were at Woof Stock Music Festival this past weekend. One of the vendors were selling these funky fur hats with mittens attached. They were $189. Yes, that is one hundred and eighty-nine dollars. For a fake fur hat. 

Many people complained that the price of entrance to the festival was too expensive for the average Joe. This was evidently true, because not too many “average Joe's” attended the festival. And many of those who did, afforded $189 fake fur hats. 

Attendance was poor at best, and most of the audiences for the 3 stages included those, like us, who got a weekend pass for being permanent residents on the property at Vivian Lake, volunteers, vendors and entertainers. Too bad really, because the organizers put together a top-notch line up of music with something for everyone except bluegrass folk. 

There was the main stage with bands booked like Chilliwack, 5-Alarm Funk, David Gogo, Trooper, Helix and of course Twisted Sister on their farewell tour. There was the smaller Market Stage that hosted lesser known names of a more singer-songwriter genre, some local talent and others from as far away as New Zealand. Lots of good and varied stuff. 

And then there was Stage 3. The Temple of Boom. And boom it did. From 11am to 6am. The music was techno and they say the technology was absolutely world class. And most surprising to me, as I lay in bed awake in the wee hours of the morning I actually really enjoyed a lot of it. 

The Temple of Boom stage was a short walk into the woods where, in the dark of night, a whole ‘nother world opened up. The light shows were phenomenal. For the most part, with the exception of the Twisted Sister and 5-Alarm Funk shows, I think this stage was the most well attended. And the attendees were, well, kinda of a show all on their own. Most living in their own little psychedelic bubbles of reality, giving me cause to believe the most profits of the weekend went home in the pockets of the drug dealers. And those who sold fake fur hats with mittens attached. 

But as bizarre as most of the get-ups and costumes were amongst this group, I have to say they were a calm and loving crowd and throughout the weekend there was really no evidence of any discord, violence or property damage. And as such, this can lead to one being a little lax in locking up their things by the end of the weekend. 

On our site we have the cabin, which we stay in, and also our trailer which serves as our guest bedroom. It is also houses our flushing bathroom and our fridge. We love it when people come stay with us at the lake over the summer. 

Apparently we had guests last night. This due to our leaving the trailer unlocked. But they were good guests and really the only evidence we have that they were even there is enough items of clothing, including a wet pair of socks, to make up a nearly complete funky costume. 

Besides some disturbed bedding, and a puddle of God-knows-what on the floor, everything else remains seemingly untouched – including the food and alcohol in the fridge.

And I now have a faux fur hat with mittens attached for next year’s event.

Deal Me In Daddy, Deal Me In.

My grieving heart found solace this Father's Day in having a great family breakfast with my husband, my sons and my son-in-law, and grandson and all my girls. heart emoticon

If you missed my Dad's funeral service and would like to read the eulogy here it is:

(imagine me standing there with my left hand raised, two middle finger folded down) 

My dad had the coolest hand. As a child, you either found it completely fascinating to play with or it scared the shit out of you. His personality was much the same. 

Edward Bruce deBalinhard was known as Ted from his birth in Yorkton Saskatchewan in 1940 until he married Jean Cutting in 1962 and they gave birth to their first born son, also named Edward deBalinhard, at which time they became known as Big Ted and Teddy. Eventually Little Ted became bigger than Big Ted and Big Ted became Ed. 

But whether you knew my dad as Ted or Ed, you knew him as a good man. A no-frills man, who loved God, lived simply and knew right from wrong. And he expected the same from everyone else.
He lived by the rule that if something needed done, you did it. And you did it now.
And this applied to everything from his child rearing tactics, his job, car maintenance, household tasks to acts of service for someone in need. 

As children when we were sent to bed, we went to bed. And we went to sleep. For most of our young childhood, we three oldest kids shared a room. Many times we heard, “If I hear one more noise, all three of you get a spanking.” And we did. 

Since it was usually Ted and Connie talking, I learned quickly to become the best fake sleeper ever. And it still serves me well. 
I remember one night Connie, who was younger, tried the same trick and when dad came in the room to deal with us, she quickly closed her eyes and said, “I’m asleep.” And while we never actually heard Dad laugh, no spankings were handed out that night. 

Chances are, if you knew my dad, you have been on the receiving end of some sort of act of service (and I encourage you to share those experiences with each other and our family) And chances are, you’ve never been allowed to reciprocate the act of service. While very giving of his time and energy, Dad was also very proud and independent, even stubborn, and he’d rather do without than accept offers of help from others. 

Dad’s doing-what’s-right character had him taking a second job working as a guard at the jail when we lived in Fernie. He loved and respected the police force and almost considered himself one of the boys in blue. And unfortunately for him, so did some of the inmates he stood guard over. 

He woke up one morning to find his car completely spray painted with profanity and words like “pig”. To this day, I think he was secretly proud to be counted among them and have his car vandalized in such a way. 

My dad loved to garden. For the first dozen years of his marriage a garden was a necessary means of keeping his family fed. But when they lived in Prince George he began to garden as a hobby. A big hobby. And we adult kids and the neighbours reaped the benefits of his labour.

After his retirement and they moved from Kelowna to Kamloops Dad began to garden full time, seemingly forgetting that he and mom were only two people. And again, we kids reaped the benefits of his labour as he begged us to take home boxes of vegetables each time we’d visit. And for those family members here in Kamloops, stopping for a visit was like a quick trip to the grocery store. 

Each year he’d threaten to reduce the garden size and his workload, but he never did, even in these last couple of years when he lived alone. 

My dad was a list maker. Amongst his things we found pages listing every vehicle he ever owned. He hadn’t yet updated the list to include his new truck he drove for less than two weeks. The list totalled 26. The boys think there were more.

There was a list of every job he ever had. There were 34 employers who were lucky enough to have my dad as an employee.

He listed every house he has lived in since he left home in Yorkton. I think he missed a couple. They totalled 31.
26 vehicles. 34 jobs. 31 homes. Yes, Daniel, you are a chip off the ol’ block. 

While Dad was very handy at doing all sorts of “boy” jobs, he wasn’t all that experienced at jobs that fell into the “Mom” category. Although I do remember him and some guy we knew as “Pineapple Fred” watching us four kids while Mom was away having our youngest sister Jennifer. I’ll never forget how amazed I was when he baked bread from scratch. We were especially impressed when he added blue food colouring to the dough. 

It’s not that he was incapable of doing the “mom” jobs – he proved that he was capable of running a household, cooking, doing laundry, grocery shopping, banking and a host of other jobs after we lost mom 2 years ago. It’s just that during their 50 year marriage, Dad and Mom had worked out their roles and responsibilities and they served each other happily and without complaining or grudge holding. 

I don’t think there’s a marriage today that couldn’t learn something from their total commitment and joy of serving one another.
My mom didn’t need to cut the grass or fuel her car and my dad did not need to cook, remember birthdays or spend much time on the phone. 

My dad wasn’t into phone use for the most part. I remember he’d get us kids to phone and see if so-and-so was home. Or “phone this number and see how much they want” for some item he’d found in the classifieds. 

Often if he answered when we phoned and started telling him about some goings on in our family, he’d cut us short and say, “Here’s your mother.” Getting the story and counselling the family was a Mom job. 

I don’t recall him ever signing a birthday card or phoning just to see how the kids were doing.

That is, until March 2013 when we lost Mom. And at that point what we witnessed was truly an incredible blessing. 

My father, a strong, stoic, faithful man lost half of himself. Yet in his brokenness, he accepted his circumstances and bravely faced each day, never wavering in his faith in Jesus. 

The learning curve this man in his 70’s took on is amazing. After 50 years of having their separate roles, he embraced both roles. He learned to cook. He learned to bank. He learned to use a computer. He even learned to bank using a computer. He figured out the iPad and FaceTime became his preferred method of communication – perhaps stemming from his anti-phone days. 

My dad, who was never the emotional or gushy type, became both “Great grandpa and Great grandma” to his six great grandchildren.
Mom had frames displaying photos of “the greats” and she would regularly update them as the kids grew and changed. Dad would have none of that. He couldn’t bring himself to cover up the old photos and the memories they evoked, so he simply purchased new frames for the updated photos and added them to the collection he proudly displayed. 

Last year when Baby Beatrice was born – his first “great” here in Kamloops, there was renewed spark and joy to his days. And I can promise you the majority of the kilometers on his vehicle in the past 10 months were a direct path between his house and hers. 

Even in his final days, when he had limited communication, his face lit up when I showed him pictures of the great-grands on my phone. There were days when he was fairly unresponsive to his visitors - until Baby Bea arrived on the scene. My heart will be forever blessed by the burst of energy, joy and love I witnessed between my granddaughter and my father. It was almost emotional and gushy. 

Even in my dad’s final couple of more emotionally vulnerable years he still held fast to his no-frills, matter-of-fact kinda character that helped him get through many rough times, hardships and failures. I think if I had to narrow down the greatest thing I learned from my dad, it’s “yesterday’s shoulda woulda couldas cannot change today’s facts.” It is what it is, so there is no sense living with regret or complaining. Life is not fair. It never has been. It never will be. Just pick up the hand you’ve been dealt and play your cards. 

Deal me in, Daddy. Deal me in.

Is it New Year's Eve Already?

Albert and Liana's 2014 version of The Annual Review as may or may not have wandered it's way into your life via email: 


Is it New Year's Eve already? I guess it's now or never if I'm going to continue my annual invasion of your privacy by inundating your inbox with useless tidbits of exhibitionism.

2014 was by no means without moments of disappointment and despair, frustration and fear but an overall generalization would have to conclude it was a good year and we cannot deny that we are blessed beyond measure.

Early in the year we were sent reeling with the news of my bff-sister-in-law-Barbee's diagnosis of lung cancer. While she is not out of the woods yet, we credit God for incredible results and continue to petition and trust that healing will continue for His glory and our benefit.

To celebrate Jade turning 30 in the spring, Brandi and I took her and the kids to Vancouver for a few days playing tourists. It was great fun, and much to Xander's delight it coincided with an international Lego exhibit at Science World.

In May our infamous Pink Panters Relay For Life team ran it's final race. It was a great six years but the time has come for other things. I will still remain involved in Relay, but to a lesser degree. I'm so proud of my team and our supporters who collectively provided over $35,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society during our years of crazy pinkness. Yay us!

After seven years of saying "One day..." in the middle of June, we hopped a plane with Jim and Barbee for 3 weeks of Newfoundland adventures.  And a great adventure it was. We learned more about our great country, witnessed an incredible number of icebergs, puffins and whales, experienced some bizarre foods, unique music and met some fantastic people, some of whom we now call friends.

After returning, we crammed as much time in at the cabin as possible before I headed to Kamloops in anticipation of Baby Connolly's arrival.

In true Brandi-organized-and-pre-planned-fashion, she gave birth on her due date, August 12th at the stroke of 12 noon. And we immediately fell in love with Beatrice Jean - 8lbs 4oz of pure joy and perfection. I believe she is the 90th great grandchild in the Ziemer family and the 5th for the deBalinhards.

Xander started Kindergarten at Peden Hill School after a short delay due to the teacher's strike. Within a short time they moved him to a K/1 split class where he is keeping up with most of the grade one work. One day he asked if he could take the grade one math test (the k's were doing something else). The teacher gave him the test to work on at his desk. He read the instructions and figured out the questions completely on his own and managed to pull off a 93%. Yup, this Granny is a wee bit proud.

Maeve attends the Strong Start program at Xander's school and has met some new friends. She is much more of a social butterfly than her brother, but also is proving to be a smart little cookie as well. Her vocabulary is incredible for two years old, she knows all her letters and numbers and has been potty trained for quite some time. Both kids are a great reflection of good parenting. Once again, Granny and PaPa are proud.

We spent lots of time out at the cabin in October to make up for missing so much time during the beautiful summer while we were in Newfoundland and Kamloops. Once again we left the trailer at the lake and stored everything in the cabin for the winter, with the intention of making it our summer home again next year. Ken and Jade got a travel trailer this year so we are hoping to camp with the kids a lot more next year.  However, the resort is still for sale so there is no telling what the future has in store in that regard. But if we are there, consider this your open invitation to come hang out with us for a day, a night, or a week in 2015.

After two years of living on his own, it became more and more evident that things were not working out for Jed in his apartment. After weighing a number of factors and petitioning for more supports, Jed moved back in with us at the end of November. We have his basement suite rented out, so he is living with us. This is a temporary measure while we await getting him into a home share program with AimHi. Although it's working okay having him here, we are hoping and praying that our crowded nest will be empty once again more sooner than later.

In November we had a little mini getaway to Vancouver and went to a Blue Rodeo concert at the Orpheum. We had never been there - what a spectacular building. The concert was great too.

I finally got my first passport in anticipation of doing a bit of travelling as Granny-Nanny for Beatrice while B&K attend to a few different work related events during 2015. I'm pretty excited about that. I may even end up in Dallas to see my little sister. She's only lived there for 15 years.

For the first time in many years I did not cook the Christmas turkey this year. What fun and excitement to have all our kidlets together at Brandi and Kore's in Kamloops. They are such fantastic hosts and opened their home to friends and family. I think there ended up being 26 people seated at the dining room table for supper.

And continuing their incredible hosting skills and generosity, their home transformed into the "All Love Garden" Restaurant in honour of my 50th birthday on the 28th. Afterwards we all attended the Cirque du Soleil show. My heart was blessed. Being 50 has been okay so far.

Once again, reviewing the year forces one to count their blessings and acknowledge how truly blessed we are. And if you are reading this, please know that Albert and I include you in the tally of blessings and are looking forward to connecting with you on some level in 2015.

Peace out....