another one off of the LIST

I have finally crossed another thing off of my bucket list. This past July I was able to DIP MY TOES IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN! It was so amazing having shared this with my amazing four kids and loving husband. At first when the idea popped into my head during our trip to Abbotsford we were not sure that it would work out. We were able to head out to the coast last minute before Grandmas memorial and I was thrilled. What made the day even better was feeling that she was there with us. During our trip up I saw many bald eagles. When we arrived at the end of the pier a bald eagle flew up to a large buoy not to far from us and stayed until we were away from the pier. When we left the pier and walked towards the beach, I looked over to the buoy and watched as the eagle flew away. I will never forget the sense of peace I felt watching the eagle fly away and then the sense of joy wading into the ocean with my amazing family.

HOME

They say home is where the heart is, well the last few years my heart has been leaving home for either 10 or 14 days at a time. We did what we had to four years ago, Nathanael had to work away for us to get caught up financially after a few years of being laid off every winter. We needed to get back on track and the most logical way to make that happen was for him to go where the work was. It was tough at first but soon it became a routine and we made it work the best we could. He excelled at his job and soon the company was aware of his talents. After 2 years they switched his shifts from ten days away to fourteen and then seven home, after adjusting to the change we did well with the routine, we found that it worked better for us. I was asked all the time "How do you do it?" three kids at the time and a husband that worked away, how did I do it? and then we decided to have a fourth. We knew our lives would change but we didn't know how much would change. Nathanael came home for the last five weeks of the pregnancy, I was a wreak, barley able to function. After Natalie came he was back to work in two days. I still don't know how I did it and I hate to think of that time. I missed my husband desperately, the kids missed him, heck even the dog missed him. After Grandma passes and we had a wonderful family trip to say good bye to her it made us realized how much we all needed our family together. After months of working out the details at the end of October our family life changed to include Nathanael. Our daily life has not changed but now he is home in time for dinner every night, he can help with dinner, feeding the baby, taking the kids to activities and more. It is definitely different having him home as much as he is but its amazing. My heart is whole once again and home is definitely HOME!!!!

Grandma

At the end of July my husbands Grandmother passed away. I remember the first time I met her I adopted her as my grandma. I have had the privlege to have amazing Grandmothers and I added Grandma Reimer to my grandma list without a second thought. I met her at my sister in law and brother in laws wedding. she stayed with Nathanael's parents a little while before the wedding and that's when we first started to get to know each other. She was sitting on the couch with me but there was a cushion between us. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing and we were chatting about life and such. I told her a little about my family and about Nathanael and my wedding. During our conversation she said she was cold. I went and found a blanket and then cuddled myself right next to her. She took my hands in hers and there we sat silently in each others company. Over the next few years Grandma and I chatted on msn and eventually facebook I learned a lot about her family and she loved hearing about our growing family. Once during our chats she asked about my heritage and last names. I told her a few of the names and when I mentioned the name Kraal she recognized the name and asked if I knew a Jake Kraal. Shocked of course, having recognized the name since it was my great grandfathers. After we put it all together she told me that My Opa had worked with Nathanaels Grandfather for a few years and the two couples were friends. Talk about a small world. When Grandma passed we were fortunate that we could travel to the coast for the memorial. We decided that with four kids the fifteen hour drive would be best done in smaller chunks of time. We were able to stay with the other side of Nathanaels family at about three quarters of the way. We made the trip a small vacation. Taking advantage of the lake and resort and then the hotel and pool. Our trip taught me many things and reminded me of other things that I need to do in life. It taught me to take advantage of every moment and live it to its fullest. It reminded me of the love that I have for my husband and kids. It was so wonderful to just be with my little family and hug and kiss them whenever I wanted, to laugh and just enjoy making memories with each other. Grandma was definitely looking down on us and I'm sure she was smiling as we made amazing memories. Good bye Grandma I love you and miss you dearly.

BABY 4 Natalie Dawn

Baby number four! Yes I know four is a lot, Yes I know we're going to busy, yes I know kids cost money and YES we are done! When we decided to have a fourth we got mixed reviews but we knew in our hearts it was the right decision for us and OUR family! We love all our children and we were thrilled to find out we were pregnant for the last time. Natalie Dawn was born late April after a rough pregnancy and a very difficult delivery. The kids love her and she completes us all. She is named after my two great friends and my husband. We are most definitely done and I am so excited about all the things that we are involved in, all the memories we will make and have already made.