HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY ALI

Ali had a birthday party on Saturday to celebrate her 5th birthday. The theme was "Ali's Princess Birthday Party" and the little girls all came in their princess finery. Ali and I had a lot of fun making the little Princess crowns. She had a wonderful party as these pictures will show. I can't believe our little girl is 5 years old...

Goodbye Louise Olive Black

This past week I said goodbye to my very dear friend of almost 30 years. Louise suffered the last year from Pancreatic Cancer. She fought a valiant fight. She was dignified and courageous and I was so proud of her. The end was painful for her but she never complained. We were friends for so long and I truly am going to miss her. We brought our kids up together and we had many many fun times. Goodbye Lou - Always and Forever...

Goodbye my son (in law)

We just buried our dear son in law Greg. He passed away suddenly, unfortunately by his own hand. He suffered greatly since the passing of his dear Cody and just never really got over it. Bless your soul Greg, we are all truly going to miss you. If any of you happened to be at his funeral you will know that his family tried to make a mockery of his life. Greg had a problem with alcohol but he managed his life very well considering the upbringing he had. He turned to our family over the past 20 years and considered us his family and we all welcomed him with open arms. His funeral may have started off ghastly but when certain people left then the Pastor did his service and sent Greg off the way it was intended. Pastor Mitchell Belobaba put on a wonderful service for Greg and now his soul can rest in peace the way the Lord intended it to be. As for families, I once again am truly thankful that I have such a wonderful, kind, loving family and I know when my turn comes that I will be sent off in the way the Lord intended and not a circus like Greg's almost became.
Thank you to my family and friends. I love you all andto you Greg, I hope your at peace and you and Cody are together again.

GOODBYE DEAR FRIEND

This picture is of a few of Bob's old friends and of course his dad and the many, many ORBS in the picture


On Christmas Day, 2007 my dear, DEAR friend Bob Sturgeon passed away shortly before end of Christmas Day. Bob has been my dear friend for almost 30 years and I will miss him dearly.
I met Bob almost 30 years ago through my other dear friend Louise. Louise moved next door to me in Richmond and we became best friends. Her best friend Bob naturally starting visiting her and in turn visiting me. Many MANY mornings the three of us would sit at my kitchen table, drinking coffee, smoking many cigarettes and doing the crossword puzzle. Bobby was a cab driver in those days and he would come in for his morning break and probably 3 hours later he would go back to work. After work Bobby would come over and drink a few beers with me and Lou, he would come over and mess around on Marc's computer - well Marc's first computer, the Coco 3...Bob and I had lots of fun trying to program "nothing" on it....Many many Xmas eve's Bob would help me put together one of Marc's Santa gifts...Willy would gladly open the door to Bob for that as Willy hated putting anything together...Me, Lou and Bob called ourselves the Three Musketeers - we did everything together the 3 of us...(dont ask us about our husbands, they were around but usually it was us 3). I have so many wonderful memories of those days. When Bob and his dad moved to Chilliwack it wasn't long before we moved out this way too. Then Malcolm and Lou followed and the Three Musketeers were back together again.
I held a memorial for Bob on Saturday, January 26th and was just in awe at how many "old" friends of Bob's came. There were people there that I knew but also old friends of his that I had heard about but never met. It snowed heavily but they came from afar..some not so far away - and we all drank a toast to Bobby and said goodbye. Things will never be the same and he will truly be missed.
I loved you Bobby Beluga...Till we meet again....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

We had a wonderful Christmas 2007. We had Lisa come home for the holiday, Amanda came over and of course Ali, Willy and myself for Christmas morning. Sara and Michael spent their first Christmas morning with Arianna. We missed Marc terribly as this was his first Christmas ever away...Christmas Eve was nice - we were all there, Sara, Michael and Arianna and Michael's mom Gloria came over. If your wondering why everyone is in pyjamas it's cuz I made them all pyjama pants so they all had to try them on. After they left Lisa's old friends Cheri and Peter came to visit and then Santa came. We were up at 6:00 a.m. and it took 2 hours for presents to be opened. I had wonderful friends and family members who really took good care of Ali plus Santa was good to all. Then we had supper at Sara's house where she cooked a wonderful turkey AND a ham...mmm - we were so full we couldnt do desert :(



Merry Christmas everyone!

Ali's Christmas Concert

Ali's daycare had their very first Christmas/Open House on Friday. The kids were all so cute. Ali just couldnt wait to go in the morning and specifically told me she had to be pretty...like that was a hard thing :) They put on a little show for us all - she practiced all week and did us all proud.
She sang so proudly and was so happy that her daddy, sister and of course nanny and papa could be there...We took a video but it is too big for me to show however here are a couple pictures, Merry Christmas everyone and hope you all have a great day. I have been truly blessed once again with the kind generosity of friends and family for Ali. I love you all.

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings to all - we have all been very busy this time of year. Above is Ali's picture of her Gingerbread house she made and she let me help a bit; and Arianna's first Christmas appearance in new Christmas finery. I am awaiting Amanda to come over so I can also take her picture and add her to my "girls" Christmas post. Amanda has had a wee setback, she just had surgery to remove ruptured cysts on her ovaries and appendicitis. We originally thought it was her appendix that ruptured but it was the opposite - however she is home and albeit still in a little pain I am waiting for her to come over for her Christmas picture to add. Things are going good and the kids are anxiously awaiting Santa's visit.

ANOTHER YEAR LATER and...

Well it's almost one year that Cody passed and things havent changed much. Tomorrow still is Willy' and my anniversary only this year another year later, now 30 years. Wow who would have thought that 30 years ago that this would be today........
Ya know when Willy and I married it was only 4 years almost to the day that I lost my first husband..well actually didnt lose him because we really never ever found him(last time I saw him was Nov 27,1974 - I married Willy Nov 19, 1977) but... and yeah, well he still actually has never been found but was legally declared dead by dad and the law courts...But the Crighton curse still seems to follow. But I dont want to get into that now - read the book if I ever publish it :)
However I am really not being glib, this post Cody year has been truly awful. I never thought that things could get worse than the days after he passed but believe me they have. I did go back to work in April 2007 after being off quite some time but now am off again since November 2007. I am falling apart and wonder if I ever will be able to be strong. I know I used to be a strong woman but man you just dont know how hard this year has been, not just on me, but on Willy, Marc and Sara-who had a adorable baby girl April 13th, imagine how hard it is on her with me not being able to keep my mind posted on our dear wee Arianna...I love that baby so much, she is the sunshine that keeps me smiling every day and I try, I really try to keep smiling for her but then the other side of my life comes through and I need to focus on them too. Amanda, dear sweet Amanda, she is lost, she is living out in Burnaby with her new fiance and he is very much involved with many things in our lives that we do/dont like and they both know it...and my focus is on Ali - GOD it is so hard to be a strong confident nanny to her when things are falling apart. In the next few days I pray I can let us all know whether our prayers have been at least answered partially...Ali right now is with me and Lisa and Greg are doing their things. I am tired, so very very tired of crying and I really, REALLY dont want people feeling sorry for ME...I want them to pray that Ali and Amanda can get the happiness that they need. I am far far done now from the praying for me bit...dont pray for me, I dont need it...but they do....But I needed to post this for their sakes and to let you know that even though some people say it has been an "uneventful year"...well maybe for them, but for us living day to day with this it has been a very "EVENTFUL" painful year for all of us involved and hope that soon it all stops.
Talk to you all soon, and remember please - Love ya all.

WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME

Amanda and her fiance Chris and below Bernie and Cathi














Hi everyone, I know, I know...long time Cat - well I am back with lots of news
Sara and Michael are now happily married old folks, wedding and Reception all over and done with. New condo bought and ready to move in in a few weeks :) Right now they are in Medicine Hat.
Marc is in Calgary and ready to start a new endeavor with his Uncle Mikey - Marc will have a small percentage of Mikey's new business that they purchased, Marc will be in charge of his own kitchen there...It's of course a pub and they are calling it Mikey's Juke Joint and Eatery...kinda cool. Grand opening is October 31st. I will post pictures when they come available to me. I miss Marc but it's a great opportunity for him.
AND ta da....My little grandaughter Amanda Cathleen is engaged...Chris her "now fiance" gave her a beautiful ring for her birthday and asked for her hand in marriage...No date set yet.
I will keep you all apprised on whats happening. Here are a couple pictures for ya'll to look at.

The Wedding

The wedding went off without a hitch (no pun intended since "they were getting hitched). The day started early - as you know, it was at my house, in the backyard. The first thing I did when I got up was check the weather, our local newstation called for "RAIN???" - how could that be, it has been so beautiful out lately. It was overcast but RAIN...after all the lovely yard work Willy has done it CANT rain....geez louise - (sorry Louise) but...then I watched Channel 8 news and they said it was going to be a nice warm day...and it was...Everything went without a hitch. Michael went golfing - yep, that's what I said - golfing - poor guy, not only did we kick him out the night before telling him it was back luck to stay, his mom made him sleep on the floor - so he got up and went golfing (actually Marc went too as well as Michael's best man). Anyhow wedding was at 5:00 and then came running in at 4:30...sheesh, talk about cutting it close. Anyhow Sara was locked away in the backroom and Michael on the other side of the house, managed his shower and we hurried him out the back just in time. Moments before Sara came out I said to Mike "are you nervous" and his smart ass reply was "nope, just another day"...Suddenly the music started playing, Elvis Presley singing "Cant Help falling in love with you" and out walk Willy and Sara - both of them sobbing, holding back my tears, and muttering under my breath, "I am not gonna cry, I am not gonna cry" when I looked over at Michael and tears were streaming down his face - well sorry folks, I just lost it...and everyone else followed. It was a beautiful day and well, just look at the pictures to prove it. (and baby slept like a baby) :)

Moving Day

Well moving day came (and went) without a hitch...nothing got broken (that I know of); the boxes were stored almost where they were supposed to be stored and the kids are (un)settled in their new abode for supposedly the next 6 months. Things are a little crowded in what I always thought was a pretty big bedroom - but Michael got everything almost squared away last night. Arianna slept the night and Sara managed to get some shut eye too. Cant say if Michael did or not - however as we speak he "is" sleeping now :)
My house isnt even that much of a mess, they got up yesterday morning and went straight to work rearranging the stuff left in my kitchen and putting it - well I dont know exactly where they put it but at least its (almost) all gone out of my kitchen. Out of sight, out of mind.
Now the only thing that "I" have to learn to do is stop planning meals! On moving day I thought I would make a big pot of chili as I knew they would all be hungry - but when they all came back the chili was put on the back burner and out came the phone for PIZZA....Then yesterday I thought I would make a big curried chicken feast - taking out lots of chicken breasts, then around 4:30 I ran up to the store for last minute things for dinner and when I got home Sara told me they had been invited out to a barbecue...Hmmm, needless to say there are lots of leftovers in my already overcrowded fridge. Too bad I am on a diet - if I could eat lots there would be lots of room in the fridge. BUT live and learn - no more planned dinners and as I said before they moved in - everyone fend for themselves...the only one who doesnt seem to learn from this adage would be "moi"...
Have great Canada Day stat off (Happy Canada Day yesterday) and enjoy today off - kick back, have a beer but DONT COOK!

Weddings

What can you say about weddings - except that marriage is a fine institution - at least for some people I suppose. I love weddings. I love the way the groom looks at the bride as she walks down the aisle, I love the flirtatious look the bride gives her groom as she takes his hand as she reaches the front. I love the way the bride gives her "daddy" a kiss just as he lets her hand go to her future husband. It's all so romantic and I just love it. I love the preamble as well - going out shopping for the dress, for the venue, the food. Everything. Well we did all that however when the final t's were to be crossed and i's to be dotted they CHANGED THEIR MINDS....Yes folks, I am talking about Sara and Michael. They were going to have this elaborate wedding "NEXT JULY" but like I said - they CHANGED THEIR MINDS....no not about getting married, they are still doing that however what with all the costs they have now decided that they want a backyard wedding (YES - BACKYARD...MY BACKYARD) and they only want the immediate family. So on July 14th @3:00pm they will be getting married - yes, I did say - IN MY BACKYARD and the only people who will be there will be Sara and Michael for obvious reasons, the Commissioner, again - for obvious reasons. Arianna of course. Then Willy, myself, Michaels' mom and dad Gloria and David - Michael's sister Laura. Marc, Lisa and Amanda and Sara's bf and husband Carleen and Chris and Michael's bf. Then we will celebrate the evening with a small barbecue. HOWEVER in August we will be having a reception (and I dont' think this one will be in my backyard, I think for this one we will rent a small hall) and invite EVERYONE to come and have a little celebration with us.
Now - before I say goodbye, one more thing - they arent just having a wedding in "MY BACKYARD" but on July 1st they are moving, lock, stock and barrel into my house. That's right - they are moving home - the 3 of them, taking over MY BEDROOM and moving in for at least 6 months with the hopes of saving $$$ so they can hopefully afford the future home of the Baird's.
But all kidding aside I am truly looking forward to all of this. I cant wait to have them under my roof - I get to have my hands on Arianna 24/7 and I am sure they both can use a little rest once in a while - and anything to help them save towards the wedding I am all for.
So all of you please do not feel offended if you dont get invited to the wedding, be darned sure that you all will most definitely be invited to the reception in August.
Love to you all
Cathi

Baby steps

I guess sometimes in our lives we have to expect people and/or ourselves to take "baby steps", a few steps forward, a few steps back and very slow steps. Sometimes those baby steps can be disappointing, sometimes they are expected. Life is baby steps whether we like it or not - but we have to accept it. The old saying "God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change" - it is true, but it certainly is a hard one. I am taking baby steps towards accepting some things I can't change but man...it's tough! But c'est la vie I suppose.
Ciao for now!

BOWLING - not my "forte"

Hi all - me, Willy and my friends went "bowling"...well if you want to call it that. It was 10 pin bowling and although I have done 5 pin (and not very well) I had never even been in a 10 pin bowling alley before, let alone "bowl"...But we had fun (I think) although I lost. It's a good thing that I am not competitive when it comes to sports because I certainly would have been a sore loser...yes, I did lose however I have to say that my girlfriend who bragged that she grew up 10 pin bowling did NOT win by much over me...now the guys - well they were a different story. When one got ahead of the other then all hell broke lose trying to outdo each other. This was 2 weeks ago that we went. Now I know I am a big girl but I have these skinny little fingers and small little wrists so I had to find a ball that wasnt very heavy. In fact, I think that the ball that I used was for someone about 6 years old. It was bright orange and well suffice it to say, did not weight too much. My allies used much heavier balls and because of that - the holes in the balls were much bigger. My little tiny orange ball had teensy weensy little holes. My little fingers fit well except my middle finger. And well - still, 2 weeks later my middle finger is swollen and quite stiff and sore...small price to pay to lose right...oh well, maybe next time I may graduate to a 8 year old's ball...But - I had fun and hey, isnt that what counts the most??

Six months ago today....(sorry no Secret today)

I can't believe that today marks the passing of Cody 6 months ago today. We believe that he actually passed on the day of his accident but legally he passed on the 20th when they disconnected him. Look at this picture of him, this was taken only days before he had his accident. He was a normal 13 year old. Life is not fair and I still don't understand why he had to go.
I miss my little Cody so terribly much. The pain is still strong and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of him. Every morning when I wake up I say good morning to him and when I go to bed at night I say good night - but at night I can lie in my bed, alone and cry. I dont know when or even if the crying will ever stop. I just dont understand any of this. All I know is that I am not ready to go over in my mind the day of his accident. The wound in my heart is still too deep to think of it. It hurts terribly and I wonder if it will ever heal. My heart breaks when I see Lisa - her eyes are vacant most of the time and I know I will never ever have my old Lisa back. She doesnt understand it either. People say it was God's will, that doesnt help us right now. And I know that a lot of people have gone through the same thing, losing a child is the worst...but selfish as this may seem, I just dont want to hear about the other person because WE are going through it now and I cant think about those other people. That sounds so terribly horrible but it's the truth although I wonder how they managed to get through it...We are getting through it, we are living and sometimes we even seem truly happy. But there is always that emptiness that we feel, the pain in the heart, the hole that doesnt seem to want to get better. There are some days that I feel bad and I am not sure what it is, until of course I really think about it and those are the days when I know it's all about Cody, when I have seen Lisa or Greg or Amanda - I see their vacant looks and then I know why I am feeling so bad. I hate this. I really really hate this and some days just want to hide my head under the covers and never come out. BUT - reality is and reality sucks - we have to accept this and thats that!! AND I HATE THAT....

GRANDMA'S

Just a quick post to say that my friend Lise, Karen and myself are going to have a grandbaby play date. We all have brand new grandbaby girls; Lisa and Karen's g/babies are about a month older than Arianna. Anyhow we are all getting together with the babes and going for a walk with them and we have promised not to compare who has the cuter g/babe...I will post the pictures after we meet... (I can't wait)!!

Meet Ali

Hi all, I would like to introduce you all to Alexandra Nicole Eldeen Ince - and she loves to say her name even if it sounds a little different than what it is. She is my 4 year old grandaughter, and I have to say she is the most precocious little girl anyone ever could have met. Now I love her, and it's not because I have to love her because she is my grandaughter but I would love her anyhow. You can't help but not fall in love with her...but beware - she can be one tough little egg to crack. She can make even the biggest of giants quiver in their boots. She knows how to turn on the charm but also she knows how to make you feel like you are a teensy little speck on this earth. She will talk to you when SHE wants to talk to you and she will smile when SHE wants to smile. It's all on her terms...but it's one of her qualities that endears me to her. Just the other day I took her shopping (yes, I did) - clothes shopping to boot. We went to Mark's Work Warehouse and I was busy looking for some clothes to buy - I may have mentioned in a previous blog that I have lost a little weight (no I am not bragging)but I really needed some new clothes. Well after running after Ali all over the store trying to find her in her little hiding spots I finally grabbed her and said "STAY" and finally I got into a room to try some pants on. WELL that was a mistake. It was so crowded in that store and there was a lineup for the changing rooms at least a mile long and please, keep in mind that this is a ladies and MENS store...so anyhow there I am undressing and out of the mouth's of babe comes (and I know for sure that she had a MICROPHONE tucked under her dress) - NANNY WHY HAVE YOU GOT THOSE GREAT BIG BAGGY UNDERPANTS ON....sheesh - I could hear snickering going on outside the doors and in the stall next to me someone burst into laughter and says - man, I gotta sit down on for that one!!!! I didnt know whether I should just stay in the stall until the store closed or...anyhow I managed to sneak out - well I lied, I actually didn't sneak out because THEY ALL KNEW ...and as I went to bed that night I could still hear the snickering echoing in my ears!! Oh Yeah, I just love my Ali!!!

HAPPY 50th JIMMY

Happy 50th Birthday brother Jim. Wow you are making me feel old cuz I know I am older than you. How can you be 50 when I only feel 20....Love you

Congratulations Ryan and Laken

I just received an email from Carol (my sis in law) and the kids got awards for their Kumite and Kata (which is a type of Karate) Laken got a GOLD in Kumite and a bronze in KATA and a huge Sportsman trophy that she can keep for a year...Ryan got a SILVER in Kumite and a BRONZE in Kata. Laura was the table runner, she got the medals to give out and ran back and forth with the score sheets. Way to go Nordal Kids!! The Anderson's in Chilliwack are really proud of you all.

Amanda and Ali

Well hello everyone - sorry it's been so long. All work and no play makes Cathi a very dull girl (ha ha). Anyhow as promised I am posting some pictures of Amanda and Ali. I was at Lisa's house one evening and had a great night with the 3 of them. Amanda had just had her tattoo started (a memorial tattoo of Cody) and so I took pictures of that plus Ali had her own little (paste one) tattoo to show. Man I love those girls!!! They are all so awesome. Amanda is back in hairdressing school. Lisa just got a job with another driving school. She has lots of patience when it comes to that, scares the crap out of me but she thrives on "crap" I guess (again, ha ha)...Amanda had to bring in a male model to cut hair one day and she forgot. When she got to school they asked her where he was and she said she forgot, so they told her that she had to go across the street to the mall and find a male who would let her cut his hair. Then the lightbulb went off in her head and said "HEY I dont need to find someone, I have a PAPA...so she phoned her papa and he came in and she cut his hair and WOW she did an awesome job, especially since Willy has such difficult hair to cut!!! See ya'll later. Love ya's.