Of Summer, Swimming, Smiles, Sun and Sand.

Looking back at our summer... here are some highlights.
We did a lot of swimming in the pool, Seth and Tristan have gained so much confidence in the water and are regular little fish, eels, whales, submarines, whatever you want to call them.  Rowan refused to go in without his "jacket" which made him safe in the water and Abby refused to even wear a jacket so she was not allowed in, resulting in an entire summer of her just lazing on the side.   

There's always work when you have a good size property, and the whole family had to pitch in to help with things like watering and mowing.  On a hot day playing with water was fun.

This summer we had strange weather, we had a super long spring but not a very hot summer resulting in less then perfect growing conditions.  Even so we gathered in alot of food from the garden and had fun watching everything grow and produce fruit.  Abby sat by the raspberry bushes and picked fruit at every opportunity while Rowan hacked around with a hoe.  Such good helpers.  Seth and Tristan grew their own gardens and tended to them daily.  Its satisfying to see the kids digging and tending to their own little plots faithfully, they even made me "soep groente" packages for the freezer from their own gardens.  Showers in the evening are that much more satisfying when feet are muddy and necks grubby from the days work.

At the very end of August we finally made it the a beach with friends!  Thankful for friends who also like to quickly "up and go" with our grills and beach toys. 

Abby frequently picked me flowers which was very sweet of her, never mind they were too short to ever do anything with. It's the thought that counts:)

Flash flooding!  A four year olds dream.

And some days... you just need to hit up the library for some R&R.   

Abby and Rowan {unofficial photoshoot}

 These two children can be such incredible monkeys and keep us on our toes but they also bring us so much joy.  I'm so grateful for the developing bond between them and Rowans patience with showing his little sister how to do things and play games.  Abby's almost always willing to go along with Rowans escapades, tent building ideas, blanket sharing snuggles and he also humours her with countless rounds of duplo zoo building events and lets-name-the-animals. 

These precious moments taken unofficially on August 18, 2016, by me while checking on the bunnies and kittens in the intense August heat.

Barn 4 Completion

This is the farm when you are driving towards it from the Township Rd. going east.  As we always say to people asking for directions, "four big white barns and a tiny square house, you can't miss it!"
And yes, we do have four big white barns but only three of them actually had birds in them, till this past August.  The one that is the most w
est (closest to us in this picture) was just a shell, used for hay storage/tractor storage until now.  The time had come for it to be finished. It started out as a winter project for Andy but once the details were figured out and quota in order it actually had to be totally done for the new chicks to to be placed in August.  So that took up most of Andy's summer, tons of phone calls, trips in to Lethbridge (I helped with that where I could - throwing all the kids in the van and picking up parts) and trip after trip to the local Home Hardware for bolts, drills and drill bits. 

This is how it started - insulation and wood strapping for the vapor barrier.

Stapling plastic over the insulation.

Insulating the front room.

Next came sheet metal.

Soon contractors came for the inlets, chimneys, electrical work and heat.

Lower left corner - feed pans in the making. 

Andy did the plumbing and water system himself.  It's amazing how many talents he has once he has time to discover them!

The bins!  It was fairly exciting!

Concrete pads got poured for the new bins and a crane lifted them into place.

Many hours of specialized work got the controls/alarms/heat/ventilation etc. computers working.

Pulleys hung, lights on, feed pans and water lines strung, we were ready for placement!

 All this was a good thing to us to do, having an empty barn does not benefit anyone.  But we sure were tired by the time we were ready to fill it.   Everything takes longer then originally planned resulting in long evenings of work tying up loose ends.  I also helped occasionally holding pulleys and plates in place so Andy could bolt things in place resulting in children in the work area which is not ideal seeing as Tristan wasn't the only one who ended up with stitches.  Abby also fell onto a nail while Rowan was "helping" her onto the trailer behind the truck which Andy and I were unpacking, resulting in a trip to emerg. for some stitches between her lip and nose.  Poor baby.  All three boys were very helpful and enthusiastic to help with assembling all 320 feed pans and clipping the nipples onto the drinking lines.  It was fun for us to see how happy they were with the finished product and to know that they really helped us.   
Andy says that next time (I exclaim "NEXT TIME????") we will not build during the summer to give us some free time to actually enjoy summer and possibly spend a few days away from here.

But for now, we say to you all 

"Please! Enjoy your wonderful Canadian chicken products!

"Thank a Farmer"

and we are

 "Proud to be a Poultry Producer!" 

...while I go and have a coffee.  ;)

'Nederlanders' come for a weekend.

Our summer has been a bit of a gong show with the whole barn building project and such going on that we were excited to have company coming to visit us for a long weekend, to relax a little and have a few slower evenings.  Andy's Aunt and Uncle from the Netherlands came the second last weekend in July along with their two daughters and we really were blessed by their visit. It was wonderful getting to know them and make some memories, chat about old times as well as recent happenings.  It was even a good opportunity for us (yes Andy too!!)  to refresh some dutch, although their English was remarkable.
On Sunday after the second church service we went to Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park for a little bbq.  An outing is always fun and special.

Our God is so great!

Our God is so great,
   so strong and so mighty,
     there's nothing our God cannot do!

We witnessed this first hand when our monkey Tristan fell from the scissor lift 9 feet up onto a concrete floor, and not only survived but came thru with minor injuries.  It was a miracle really. 
A couple weeks ago I went with all four kids to get groceries and pick up a few things from the local hardware store for Andy.  When we came home Tristan grabbed the bag for Andy and said "I'm going to go say hi to dad." 
With-in two minutes Andy was running across the lawn with Tristan in his arms, a limp bloody little boy, who had climbed the scissor lift where Andy was working in the new barn. The lift was moving and had made a sudden stop and Tristan, not prepared, catapulted off.
I could tell you about what a scary drive we had and all the rest but the fact is, he came out of the hospital with five stitches on his face and many a bruise. Even the Dr's were amazed, they took multiple x-rays and there was nothing else, not even one broken bone!  We give all glory to God and we are so grateful this spunky little man has a reason to be with us!
The first week was filled with scary dreams for Andy and myself, and we still get racing hearts when we hear a kid screaming (even in play),  we tip toe quietly to his bedroom at night and watch him peacefully sleep, thankful for the spark that has since returned to his eyes and the fact that he is with us.  

"All Thy lambs in Safety Keep".

Discharged from the hospital. Still in shock and so very tired.

A couple days later.  He could eat again, his jaw was very sore at first and hard to open.

Stitches coming out!

Three weeks later - almost as good as new:)

 We tried taking some pictures to announce the good news of the expected baby.  But afterwards thought his eye looked too  black, so didn't end up using them.  Oh well, the kids weren't really cooperating anyways :D And my camera battery died and ... and, and, and!

Our tidbit of news!

I've been on a bit of a blogger hiatus!
The reason is simple. I've been oh so unreal sleepy and hungry.  

Ah yes, we are happy to announce another Bijlsma Babe is due, Lord willing, Feb 2, 2017.

We are so thankful all looks good so far and pray for continued health the rest of this pregnancy. Welcome second trimester.