Happy 8th Birthday Hailey!

Hailey, we love you so much! You bring us so much joy and laughter! We are so thankful for how caring, thoughtful, and helpful you are. I'm so glad you enjoyed your day, we loved spending it with you! Happy Birthday!

This was my project for Hailey, and after sewing the cushion and pillow case, I thought I would set it up and surprise her in the morning! Joel had an even bigger surprise, he came home from work after being away almost 2 weeks to be there when the girls got up!
Auntie Dawn and I planned a trip to the city for the day. Since Joel was also heading into the city, Hailey rode with him. We also had to fit taking Sara into the city for blood work into the schedule, which meant and early morning for us all. After we left the clinic we met Joel for coffee, and said goodbyes before he left to head back to work up north. Then we went to Ikea, (at Hailey's request), her and Sara played in Smalland, and then we ate lunch. We got home and had supper with cupcakes for dessert. It was a great day, thank you Auntie Dawn for making Hailey's day so special.

It's pretty special that we get to be home on Hailey's Birthday, last year we celebrated with friends at the Ronald McDonald house and with Sara at the hospital. Thank you Hailey for being Sara's best friend through it all. :)

Fun in July

We're looking forward to being at Ronald McDonald House again on August 11th. We're bringing our mechanical bull & other inflatables for their block party! The last time we were there was to visit the Baskill family.

Hailey on Misty

Karey & Sara on Annie

 For Sara, leading Annie around is just as exciting as riding!

 Hailey's first Gymkhana with Dad and one of her friends on Canada Day.

 Joel & Hailey with their ribbons

Joel on Annie, getting her to lay down. 

 Hospital check ups also mean a stop at the Beach play area! (this is from mid July.) 

Sara's last check up on July 30th went so well, and she's doing great. We're still having to do blood work once a week, and she's managing ok with that.

 Auntie Patsy stopped by for the day, it was so wonderful to spend time with her! 

We love you Uncle Lawrence & Auntie Patsy!

 The view pulling out of our driveway

 Soaking our feet in the river to cool off.

 Katie & Sara with TJ :)

 Hailey & Sara full of mud after making a river & lake in the garden! Good times! They don't look that dirty, but both of them were sitting in the mud! 

 We had a garage sale on July 27th, and the girls & their friends had a bake sale. 

 Sara was just as good at selling them, as she was eating them!

 We started our trip to Minot, North Dakota early Tuesday morning to buy a different mechanical bull. With a stop at the Stollery for Sara's transplant clinic which included advice from the Dr. Dinos. She had blood work, Echo, ECG, height (she grew another cm!), weight, and then we were off to Lloydminster to sell the mechanical bull. 

Across the border with no issues, even without Joel's passport! (it had expired)

Our drive was very tiring, so Sara had a nap with Dad.  

 We drove by some beautiful places. Many grain fields, wheat, barley, oats, flax, corn, and canola. We saw many pump jacks, flares, old and new grain elevators. The big skies, river valleys and rolling hills were spectacular. "The heavens declare the Glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1

 Welcome to Minot!

 We loved the colours of the fields; the big drag line and the many tractors & farming equipment that we passed along the way.

We had so much fun with our mechanical bull last night with friends. It was great to set it up & try it out. Happy 13th Birthday Hayden, wish I had a picture of you on the bull! 

Here's Bethany on the bull.

Come out and see us at PV Days in Evansburg on August 10th!

Hailey's ride

Summer here is spent outside in the sunshine! 

Hopefully we'll get more time outside if there's less rain in August! 

 A great way to stay hydrated! 

We're having such a great summer, we don't want it to end!

Exciting news for our Hospital buddies! Surgery & a heart transplant!

Today is a big day for surgeries, our friend Joel is having a surgery, as well as Muskaan!

Joel & Sara are like two peas in a pod, they are both silly, goofy, and completely loveable. We're praying for you today, and hope you're back to your normal self soon Joel! We're so thankful that we've been able to spend time with you guys, and hope that you'll be able to be home soon. Lots of love & hugs, God Bless you & your family Joel!

We are thrilled to see another family receive heart transplant, especially one that we've gotten to know! We have loved spending time with Muskaan & her family. Hailey & Sara were jumping up & down with excitement this morning when I told them Muskaan was having transplant surgery today!

We met Muskaan and her family a month short of a year ago. When Sara was in the hospital last year, so was Muskaan, and with or with out us there, the two of them would play & giggle together. It made it easier knowing that Sara had another "big sister" looking out for her and that Hailey had a friend.

We were saying goodbye to Muskaan on Sunday, as Sara was discharged. I told Muskaan, maybe next time I see you, you'll have a new heart! Sure enough, we'll be seeing her tomorrow after Sara's appointments! We also talked about how Sara had a transplant after staying in room 16, and then Austin, and now Muskaan!

Today is your day Muskaan, and we are praying, and praying for you! We hope that the surgery goes as planned, and that you'll  have a quick recovery! We thank the Lord for you & your family, God Bless you all!

"Daddy, they let me OUT!"

Sara's first words to Joel when she greeted him today after our drive from the hospital.

We are so happy to be out! And grateful for the amazing care we receive there at the Stollery. It was so nice to see many, many, friendly faces and meet new ones too! Sara's circle of friends were also in, so that was nice to see them! We got the nurses to deliver notes to their room, because we were isolated. Or as Sara would tell people "We're isowaited". We really hope that our friends who have been there for some time will be able to go home soon as well. We just keep praying that things will work out well for each family we meet.

 This is Sara before her Heart Cath biopsy, she did so well! We're so thankful for no rejection! Oh, and of course we brought one of her dolls along to keep her company. She just loves her "Cinderwella". (Thanks Joyce)

 Sara had many tests done to check out her heart - this is her during an Echo ultrasound watching a movie.

  Cuddles & a movie with Hailey :)

Yesterday Sara had trials being off oxygen, and was able to be off for 4 hours and then back on for nap or bed time. This is the monitor at 3:30am this morning. I saw her oxygen saturations were 100% (which is higher then they've been) , so we tried going off, and it was successful, even with her fast asleep! So she's off oxygen and doing great!

Staying at the hospital these last few day is a great reminder to be careful not to expose Sara to those who are sick. Although we can't avoid everything, her immune system will always be compromised and we have to be aware of that. After almost 8 months out of the hospital world it is surprising that we haven't had to stay sooner! We are so thankful to all who pray for Sara, we so appreciate you!