Special people at the farm

We drove to the farm on Saturday, Dec 22nd. We decided to make the absolute most of Josh's vacation time from work, and go on the Saturday instead of Sunday afternoon or Monday. :o) The extra work it took on my part was totally worth it. And it felt so good to have Josh come home that Friday evening and help me finish up things. :o) 

We left at 6:30 am, drove two hours to Red Deer where we had a lengthy stop in the parking lot of Tim Hortons, nursing Philip, changing Joy, taking Hope potty... all those good things, and of course - drinking tea and coffee! Can't forget that! From Red Deer our amazing little man traveled almost 4 whole hours till Fort Macleod, where he ate again, and the girls went to another Tim Hortons with Daddy and then to the nearby Super Store... they HAD to get out of the van for a while. :o) Baby fed again, we took off for the farm, with a quick stop for gas and air in the tires in Lethbridge. 

We rolled in around 4:30, and navigated our way through the renovations at the entry of the house to the warmth and lovely people inside. :o)

Philip Raymond Langemann meets his Papa, Stewart Raymond Collin. :o)

Philip wasn't exactly sure what to think of this guy with the strong hands a big nose at first, but they got along okay. :o)

And.... Philip meets Pilar, Luke's beautiful girlfriend. :o)

She was great with him!

Love it!!!

A full dinner table!!! Yay!!!
Wait a minute - who's that new guy at the end of the table? You'll see more of him further down this post. (Thanks for taking the picture, Avery.)

My beautiful, young looking Mum, and some of the girls. :o)
Hope was desperate for something to do, or maybe it was me that was desperate for something for her to do, so Granny set about occupying her with helping make "pigs in a blanket" for church potluck the next day. Hope had never seen those before, but now she makes them out of Play Dough here at home. :o)

Happy sigh.

More happy sighs!!!
Love this shot of Chloe and the man God has brought into her life, Reid Wilkie. They were ready for church and having some quiet moments with God on the couch. :o) :o) :o)

Lyddie, laying some love on the little man. 

 "Mister Reid" blessed the girls with Christmas gifts, so Granny helped Hope try out her new markers while Joy scribbled in her colouring book. The new Dr. Seuss ABC book was read often as well.

Reid and Chloe were very sweet to play Play Dough with Hope.... :o)

Sheesh - that grin must be a permanent part of his face! Notice Josh is still grinning too... :o) He was the pioneer on the title "Mr. Grin" in this family. :o) Chloe, in all her wisdom, decided NOT to play Ticket to Ride Europe against the four guys, but got some time beside her guy and flipped the cards for everyone. Josh, Reid, Dad, and Avery battled it out while Luke drove his lady home to Calgary.

And was Joy-Belle ever happy to see her Auntie Chloe! So grateful for all the time Chloe spent loving on her, even with Reid there. :o)

Eww. Not a lovely shot of me, in my opinion, but the picture was to show the beautiful crystal bowl my Grandma gave me for my birthday. :o) Let's just say, I hadn't quite recovered from the three hours of sleep I had before leaving Spruce Grove at this point... but I did recover them later in the week at the farm. :o)

No words necessary.

Josh was teaching Hope the names of the chess pieces.

Apparently, she remembered quite well.... :o)

Reid had to leave midday on Christmas Eve to pick up one of his nieces from Lethbridge and travel home for Christmas himself. Reid and Chloe read soooo many stories to the girls. Wow! Hope and Joy are sure blessed.

Love Chloe's eyes here.
Love Hope's eyes too. Too bad you couldn't see them... don't ask me how she got the hat... I think Granny turned her into "Aunt Jemima" like she used to do with us when we were little girls. :o)

Ahh. No work, and no need to do the dishes... so he got some cozy snuggles with our little man instead. Love these two soooo much! Hey - they match. (unplanned!) Most of us were just kind of hanging out in the living room that morning.

Papa wandered in and found a book which attracted the girls. :o)

I still love hearing my Dad read stories.... brings back good memories. :o)

And then we all listened to Dad talk... recounting some story or facts of some relevance, though I can't recall what they were now.

Gulp. Love how little Joy hung out with him.

Meanwhile, Hopey took every advantage of every available snuggle herself. :o)