Puzzling

The one that started it all......

For the "gift exchange" in Alex's class, they were asked to bring a 500 piece puzzle. Alex got this one of a castle in Germany. The fact that his buddy Micah is in Germany helped to build interest in putting together this puzzle. That, and the fact that Brent enjoys doing puzzles, so they did it together. Everyone had such fun watching the puzzle come together. As you know from a previous post, that Brent got a plane for Christmas. I couldn't very well put it under the tree, so I printed up a picture of the plane and wrapped boxes, etc. with puzzle pieces in them.
Over the Christmas Break, this puzzle was what we worked on in our spare time. It was fun to watch everyone from Grandpa all the way down to Katie, stop by the puzzle from time to time and put in a few pieces. After much work, the Hockey puzzle that Brent got for Christmas a few years ago, was put together.
Katie is quite the puzzler.... she really enjoys looking for the right piece. She recently rediscovered a puzzle that Grandma gave her and it must be done daily. She is quite good at it, (it's a big Dora floor puzzle of Canada) I like to sit with her and tell her about Canada as she puts it together. Any squeezing in of Canadian stuffs is good. :-)
Brent's mom and the kids used to put puzzles together, I never really understood why until now. What a sense of team accomplishment when it is completed! I think we'll be on the look out for another good one for the summer. :-)

Horsing around

The kids were having such a good time saddling up w/ blanket saddles and scarf reigns. :-)

Grandma Reeder

HAPPY 82nd BIRTHDAY!!!!!

I want to take a moment and tell you about my Grandma. She is one of the most amazing women that I have ever had the privilege of knowing! My grandma will always keep you smiling. She is sweet and kind, stubborn and cheeky. She would never complain about her health, I've never known her to whine about anything. She unconditionally loves her whole family. She has taken every son in law, and grandson in law on as her own and loves each of them equally. It has always amazed me how quickly those men have become part of her heart. She adores her Great Grand Kids, and is certain that they can do no wrong! She had amazing parents, from whom I believe she took the best of each of their qualities to build herself. She's got just enough Grandma Dewsbery to be to be sweet, kind, and unconditionally loving. And just enough Grandpa to be strong willed and protective of those she loves.

The first time that Grandma met Brent she served him a desert called "sex in a pan". She did this to make the poor boy squirm. After desert she asked him, "So Brent, how was your sex in a pan?" And w/o missing a beat he said "best sex I've ever had". They've been best friends since. Grandma loves anyone with a good sense of humor. I've always heard stories from other people about Grandma helping those around her in her little community. She is a great friend and will listen to all those "old ladies complain" with a smile. She has been an outstanding friend to my dad's mom. My grandma Cook has alzheimer's, and Grandma will go over and patiently listen to Grandma Cook on a regular basis. Although I've lived thousands of miles away from her for the past 15 years, she is a main reason why I go back to Canada. Mom and Dad will come to see me and the family, but Grandma can't come this far, so we go to her. I miss her when we miss years being there. Although I don't call her often enough, I do think about her all the time. She has had a rough life, but has borne it well. She lost her sweet heart at 50 yrs old, and has chosen to stay single since.

She has had offers my friends, because she is not only a wonderful person but she is absolutely beautiful! Altho she may have spent the last 30+ years alone, she has set an example to me of what true love is. I don't question for a moment in my mind that she has an undying love for my Grandpa. She has told us stories about him as we've grown and has made him a family hero. I am grateful to her and her example of love.
She lost her only son a few years later, and has stood strong through that as well.

I never want to forget:

-her hugs, she gives the best wonderfully 'squishy' hugs.

-how she always teases to leave money on the back of the toilet if you need to use it

-how she's still so politically "in correct" and is fine with it. :-)

-her sitting in the chair with my little kids, rocking and humming to them

-the smell of her house

-her amazing cookies and squares

-her good attitude about health

She is a pillar of strength, an example of love, a wonderfully funny, charming, sweet, kind, unconditionally loving, beautiful, amazing, spiritual woman. I love her so much!
She doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the internet, so she will likely never see this, but I wanted a post in my Blog book about her. Thank you to my cousin Tobie who digitalized all the photos for me to make this post even easier.