Brandin and Chelsea visit grandma.

We had a visit from Brandin and Chelsea this past weekend and it was very nice. It was actually the whole family, Brandin, finance Stephanie, baby Lincoln, Chelsea, Rob and Theo. The kids have sure grown since Christmas. Mostly they just wanted to come by to pay their respects and to check in on how grandma was doing. It meant a lot to grandma to see everyone. It was an emotional visit, but it was quite touching to hear them thank grandma and papa for helping them throughout their lives. Now with children of their own, it's quite a development for grandma to see. Here are some pictures from the visit.











The most touching moment was when Brandin gave Grandma some money, he was trying to pay back a debt he owed from money borrowed in the past. Grandma said that it was the first time in the history that any any of the children paid money back. It meant a lot.

Farewell Papa.

Looking back at all the pictures and memories we can't but realize how much Papa meant to us. Papa was a kind-hearted soul that touched everyone he met. He had a certain charm that made him instantly endearing. Perhaps it was his warm smile, his jovial attitude or light-hearted demeanour, whatever it was, he was a likeable man that loved his family, especially his wife Nan. It's hard to believe that they've been together for 61 years. It's not often you see two people so connected, sweethearts since they were 16 years old.

I'm not sure many people know this, but he was a walking medical miracle. A man who was on a crazy cocktail of prescriptions, from aspirin to blood thinners. A man who has had innumerable medical procedures and operations with too many close calls to mention.  He certainly wasn't the poster-boy for good health, but you'd never know that from meeting him. I can personally attest that his mere presence has made my life richer. Malcolm and Melody had the fortune of growing up and living with a grandfather that loved them and cared about everything they did. He always had time for them, no matter how silly, no matter how trivial their request and actions were. We would all like to think that the past 7 years living together under one roof also enriched his life, made life more interesting and worthwhile from his side too.

This past Friday we lost a very important person, but a person who no longer has to live through the pain and discomfort of fighting illness. Many people, including doctors wouldn't have ever thought that he'd live past 80, well next February would have marked Papa Mel's 84th birthday, so there.

We will always love you Papa and you will never be forgotten. You were a great husband, father, grandfather, and friend. Most of all we're proud of you for being a fighter all those years. Thank you for everything you did, most of all thank you for being you. We miss you.

Happy Mother's Day and hospital visits.

All in all 2014 has been a tough year for the family, especially when it comes to health. With Papa and Uncle Glen in the hospital our days are filled with a lot of ups and downs. We really have to hang on to the bits of good news that pepper our lives. Most recently, uncle Glen's scope showed the total eradication of the tumor, now that's substantial. The radiation and chemo has done its job; however, now it's all about the recovery. As for Papa, we did hear some good news albeit small. He's fighting a new infection and the antibiotics after two days have had a significant impact. The doctor was worried about how he would respond, especially in light of all his other issues. We just have to keep his spirits up, today marks his fourth month in the hospital. I know that some days he feels like he'll never get home, we're all still hopeful. Here are some shots I took with some black and white Kodak Tri-x film.

Mother's Day

I wish I could say that Mother's Day is a day where we all have warm and fuzzy feelings. This is the second year in a row where the kids weren't necessarily on their best behaviour. The family had plans to go out for breakfast and this year even Gomo and Carol came along. Grandma decided to go and visit Papa at the hospital, as part of her usual morning. Tracey, Roger and the kids did have a surprise for her when she came back. They got her a zero gravity chair for outside. Now she's able to sit outside in the good weather and enjoy some rays. She admitted today that she even dozed off for a while, testament to the comfort of the chair no less.

Life goes on...

Sad news, Papa is still in the hospital. Now he's just shy of four months. It's hard to imagine that he's been out of the house for that long. Grandma still goes up to visit him everyday, most days are good, but in truth the family is really just playing this long waiting game with no end in sight. The recent bout with pneumonia seems under control, but now there's word of another infection. We need him to get stronger, eat more and eventually move around so he can regain some of that strength.

In other news the kids are well, they still fight like cats and dogs, but from the sound of things that's pretty normal. Most days Roger and Tracey have to referee and keep them separated in order to have some peace and quiet in the house.

Now that it's May the school year is winding down. Malcolm is doing well in most subjects, especially his writing and reading. Roger and Tracey have been trying to work on improving his math, but most days are a struggle to get the extra work in. I think through their efforts there has been some improvement, albeit incremental.

 We're coming up on Mother's Day this Sunday. I'm not sure what's planned, but again with Papa in the hospital things have been difficult. Here are some pictures from Malcolm's baseball games and some film shots Roger has taken during March and April. He loves that Mamiya RZ67 camera.

Easter and stuff.

Easter this year was definitely different. The regular dinner preparations were absent and most of all the spirit was gone. It's most definitely due to uncle Glen and Papa's hospitalization. Not having the whole family present for dinner and activities has certainly had an effect on everyone. Papa is still in the hospital and fighting a sudden chest infection and although uncle Glen's treatment is now done the road to normalacy seems still distant. Despite the overall glum, Tracey and Roger still put on an egg hunt for the kids. No big surprises this year like in years past, but some treats, a nice brunch with Chad, Wendy and Aaden, and a few books to celebrate the onset of spring. Here are some pictures.

New car?

Yup, the family is in the market for a new car. Roger and Tracey are trying to narrow their choices down. Right now it's between the Honda Ridgeline and the Kia Sorento. Each car has its pros and cons, and right now it looks like the Kia is pulling ahead. Last weekend Roger and Malcolm went down to the Vancouver International Auto Show to check them out. They even took skytrain down, Malcolm's favorite. Once daycare ends, they'll probably move the money over into car payments. It's been nice not having payments, but it's definitely time for a new vehicle with more space. I think Roger's tired of playing tetris with all the stuff when they head out on a road trip.

We finally meet Mr. Gavin!

Uncle Lane, auntie Jen and Master Gavin came to visit last week. We enjoyed dinner together talking about old times and how children change lives. There was no doubt that Lane and Jen would be great parents, Mr. Gavin looks pretty great. He's certainly a handsome boy. I think that uncle Lane and Roger had one of those full circle moments where now Lane is in the same position Roger was 7 years ago now. Just look at the picture below, there's even a resemblance between Malcolm and Gavin don't you think? A special hello to Grandma Turner in Red Deer. Thanks for reading the blog all these years. She was so kind to send Melody her first booties back in 2009, whoa 5 years ago now. Here's the link to the original post.

Palm Springs 2014

Well, it's been a super long while since my last blog entry. Whew a lot to report! Sad news is that Papa is still in the hospital. Apparently, it looks like a few more weeks to deal with all the residual issues. Suffice to say he's considerably weaker so they need to get his strength up before any immediate homecoming. We've all been vigilantly visiting him every day, it's especially hard on Grandma.

The family is back from Palm Springs, such a relief. From the sounds of things the trip was a great success. Carol, Gomo, Uncle Glen and Grandma took good care of me though.

The trip down to California did apparently start with a bit rocky ride with a 2 hour delay in San Francisco, but for the most part the kids did pretty well dealing with all the running around. The house the family rented was beautiful and having a pool certainly allowed the kids to be perpetually entertained. The one downside is the safety issue, small children + pool requires constant monitoring. Some basic house rules were set up and for the most part everyone complied. As always the vacation was filled with good food, good times and lots of great memories. A great way to spend spring break. The next trip is planned for August, this time I get to go too! Whoo hoo! Here's a slideshow of the images Roger took during the trip.

Status quo...

There's nothing really new to report. Papa is still in the hospital, today actually marks 8 weeks. Today we didn't get very good news either, he's got three blood clots in his lung. So, the doctors and nurses are working very hard to treat the situation. We're still keeping our fingers crossed that he can come home soon. The medical staff is confident that everything will be fine in time, so that's good news. Uncle Glen's treatment is going well. It's going to be a long haul, but as the doctor mentioned, this will be a cure to his condition.

For the past few days Roger has also been feeling sick with some sort of stomach bug. Man, we just can't catch a break. The family is gearing up for their trip to Palm Springs in a week. Tracey is still on the fence about leaving the folks.

Here are some film images Roger took over the past few weeks.