Our Family & Our Life

This blog is sorely neglected. I can't help it, blogging isn't a priority and I just feel like I haven't much to say these days. Colin has left us again and returning ?????  I wish I knew when but sometime this year I guess. A few photos of our joy... She's so beautiful and sweet ... and loves her Daddy so much it breaks my heart they can't always be together ... but we're very thankful for her Oma - what would we do without you? She loves her "2 Omas"... In fact we celebrated great-Oma's 97th happy birthday on the 16th September when this photo was taken. We're praying that we have news soon to report but until then we wait patiently and trust all will happen for our good in His time. 

One of the reasons I really wanted to come back to Canada was to spend more time with family. Most of our Canadian family is from my side but for those who don't know, Colin's aunt and uncle, Lynn and Jim, live in Ontario and we paid them a visit last weekend ... Isla slept well and for a very long time Saturday afternoon. After Colin woke her up she needed a few cuddles from Aunt Lynn. What a baby! I think the last time I got to hold her like that she was six months old -not fair! ;-) By now Isla thinks everyone has cats and she got to meet Blondie and Minnie (below) who turned out to be very brave. Most cats would have disappeared when they saw her but not these two, they are far too curious. I think I may look into the "cat condo" for our furry lovelies because Minnie sure looks cozy in there.... Thank you Aunt Lynn and Uncle Jim for a great visit and some good craic. We hope to see you again soon.

What a blessing it was yesterday for my Oma, Isla's great-Oma to be able to celebrate her 96th birthday! She came over to Mom and Dad's first for party #1 including cake, of course then it was off to Aunt Aaf's for another party. Before she left we took a few photos to commemorate the occasion. Four generations although the youngest generation doesn't look too impressed, does she? ... and lastly, Mom with her Mom. I'm so glad Isla gets to meet her great-oma again - another reason I really wanted to come home!

Well, where do I start? It's been a long month to start with. One problem after another and in the process I lost the motivation to blog but things are better again or at least are in the process of getting better. Moving so many times in a short period of time is emotionally, physically and financially exhausting. Trust me! I guess the best place to start is several weeks ago. It was only after about three date changes did we arrange the moving date and we left on Sept. 9 at 5 a.m. We were loaded down to say the least.... .. the top row of photos was taken in the apartment when we were packing up. That stuff left with the movers. ... the bottom row is a photo of our van and it went with us, obviously. It was squishy in there because we also had the cats but we made it to mom and dad's in 2.5 days - 1468 miles completed! Nebraska and Iowa are big states even though you may not believe looking at the map but just try driving through them. They go on and on and on.

Dear Diary, We are driving to NYC on Saturday.... with Isla... Are we crazy travelling 1800 miles with a 13 month old? Probably but for a good reason. Colin has a convention at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan for a couple of days. He has loads of stuff, aka. computers, terminals and even our TV, so we decided to drive and make it a mini-family-vacation. At least I hope its a vacation, we'll have to see about that. Another thing, after the convention Colin has to come back to Denver to meet a client and I'll stay on the east coast. While he is away Isla and I will be staying with Nancy and Bob in Hartford who graciously offered to put up with us for a few days. By way of history, Nancy was Colin's mom's pen-pal for over 50 years - they were like sisters. Colin will fly to Hartford late Tuesday night to meet up with us and then we drive back to Denver and should arrive back home on Saturday at the latest... Phew, nothing in our lives is straight-forward

Dear Diary, Well, this is my first ever "meme", 7 things you don't know about me . Thanks Mia for "tagging" me! I admit it took a long time to come up with seven things because I'm a rather boring person but I managed to come up with the following 7 things: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Like Mia, I share my birthday with a celebrity, Ed McMahon. The old guy who now goes knocking on doors giving away money for Publishers Clearing House. I wish he would start knocking on my door! 2. My favourite flower is a tulip, and no, it has nothing to do with the dutch blood flowing through my veins. 3. When I was a kid, my brothers used to use me as a human football. The dent in the wall in the basement bedroom at mom and dads is the outline of my head. Don’t worry, I was OK, it was just soft dry wall! 4. I have visited at least 12 different countries in my lifetime and lived in 3 different countries. Please no more! 5. My first car was a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier, g

Dear Diary, Happy 46th Wedding Anniversary! From Colin, Isla & I, we pray you have many more happy years together! God bless! <p

Dear Diary, How was 2008 for us? Well, as you can imagine, it was a mixed bag of emotion and throw in a load of stress too. I think it is safe to say that with the exception of Isla's impending birth, just about everything that happened in 2008 was not in our plans. I said to Colin last week that it would be nice to turn the page on the calendar and everything would be as we want it and forget 2008. If only it would be that easy but we believe God doesn't give us more than we can handle. The year started with me going to a OB appointment only to find that my BP was through the roof. The dr. that saw me was ready to check me in the hospital and deliver Isla but thankfully the senior dr. didn't think that was the right course of action and decided it would be better to send me home and have the midwives monitor my BP at home. This worked well for about 5 weeks until my BP went so high the midwife had to call the hospital and send me in. That was Valentines Day. Three days

Dear Diary, Happy Birthday Christina, Wishing you many more happy years with family and friends. God bless.

Dear Diary, Today is the 20th birthday of our niece, Kristen... Happy Birthday Kris, We pray you continue to have another blessed and healthy year!

Dear Diary, I finally got my haircut and a colour this morning! Woohoo! (but no photos) It's been way too long and I was starting to suffer from stay-at-home-mom syndrome. You know, bad hair, too many sweat pants and puke on my shoulder... AND, we're going out for dinner with friends without Isla... I love her but it's nice to go out without stuffing your face and getting out of there in 30 mins. because little one is bored and whiney.... What a nice Saturday!

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Dear Diary, The bottles are put away! We had a sippy cup for her but it was a beginner cup and it seemed like nothing came out of it so we bought a couple more and she loves them. She has one for her juice/water and another for her milk. I lay her in Pack'n'Play and she enjoys it. With her being in the Pack'n'Play I spend less time cleaning the carpet. She's been spitting up alot so everyday I've going around with my scrub brush bucket of vinegar water cleaning up little spills. I still do it but there isn't as much to clean up! YAY Isla! We had a bit of snow today and we went for a walk in it this afternoon. I didn't bring my camera with me so I took a photo of her on the balcony when we got home. I think this is the closest I'm going to get to a dog ~ Isla's hat!!

Dear Diary, Firstly, Happy Birthday Loretta! Have a great day and we wish you many continued blessings! Secondly, Happy 3rd Engagement Anniversary to my Groom! Thirdly, Happy 2nd Wedding anniversary to our friends Jeffrey and Jenny Dempsey! Congratulations ! Jeffrey and Jenny are unique because they had the most unusual wedding in Larne. I won't go into details but if you were at the ceremony, you know what I'm talking about... I told you it was a busy day!

Dear Diary, Happy Birthday George! We wish you God's continued blessings throughout the next year and in years to come. Love from us, Heather, Colin & Isla George is my oldest, much older, bro. I'm not such a good little sister 'cause last night all of a sudden it came to me, it's his birthday tomorrow! Sorry, no time to put a card in the mail but maybe I'll give you a call tonight and hope you're not on the road (he's away from home alot and has a very patient and loving wife, Loretta, for putting up with it!!).

Dear Diary, We've been back in Colorado now for nearly two weeks and we're slowly getting settled and back into a regular routine. The boxes are nearly all unpacked (just waiting to buy a bit more furniture) and I'm working on decorating Isla's room. Since we rent we can't paint the walls so I'm adding bits of colour through wall hangings and her bedding. It's coming along and I'll take a photo maybe next week if I get it done. No snow yet in our area in fact just the opposite, the weather has been amazingly beautiful for this time of year. Today is November 1 and it was 75 degrees! We've trying to make the most of it by spending time outside when we can because I'm sure it'll be a long winter in the apartment. Last Saturday we visited Andersons's Farm and Corn Maze in Erie, Colorado with our church family from Park Hill OPC . The corn maze is huge ~ check out the link! We strolled through the maze and made it to about 6 of the 13 check

Dear Diary, Oma arrived safely this morning at 10am and already has taken over feeding. She spent a good hour unloading so many gifts of clothes and things from her suitcase. We are so thankful for them all and would just like to say a big THANKS to everyone who sent us a gift by post or by Oma... Colin, Heather and Isla (Somewhere under all her new outfits)...

Dear Diary, Day four and Isla had a visit from her Granny Black.. We're still in debate whether she will be called granny, nana, or gran Black. Definately not oma, so mum vandenberg, you're safe enough. Isla is feeding quite well also, but we're having to top her up with a supplement, which is good because I get a chance to feed her. So all is well in the Black family. This last picture was taken when Heather was burping Isla, but the look on Isla's face was just too cute not to add a speech bubble. I will leave you with a little story; My brother Alan has two girls, Erin and Amy aged 6 and 5. Erin must have overheard her mother talking about Isla'a weight because when Alan came home later that night Erin rushed to him and said something along the line of, "Daddy, was Uncle Colin and Aunt Heather's baby really that cheap, mum said she was only five pounds (£5)?" Erin may also have been thinking, if they're that cheap why can't we have another?

Dear Diary, The arrival of Isla Jennifer Black took place this Lord's Day 17th Feb 2008 at 10.20am. She weighed in at a mere 5lbs 4ozs, but mother always told me good goods arrive in small bulk. That's all for now......... The Black Family..

Dear Diary, Mom and Dad safely arrived in Belfast on the morning of 14th September for a two-week visit with us in Northern Ireland. After a days recovery from jet lag, we ladies did a bit of shopping in Larne town centre and the boys were sent away to Lisburn to watch Larne get beat by Lisburn Distillery. On Sunday, it was church and a quick vist with Colin's mom to say hello. We left for County Donegall on a very windy Monday morning and we made a few stops before reaching Mallin Head, the most northerly point in Ireland. The waves were huge in Castlerock Lunch break stop and photo session We eventually made it up to Mallin Head and if we thought it was windy back home, we weren't prepared for Mallin Head! The terrain is very rocky along the coast The hotel where we stayed for the night A roofless chapel in a valley We returned home late Tuesday afternoon, had dinner and Colin took Mom to the church hall to play bowls with the church team. According to the master