After a busy week of seeding, we left Louis with about 3 hours of field work to do and hit the road early this morning. Thirteen hours later, we’re nicely settled into our hotel room in Kamloops, BC. When I made the reservation, I didn’t realize that the hotel is located right next to the gas station that we always stop at on our way through Kamloops!

Several of our relatives live along today’s route and we would usually choose to stay with one of them but, of course, we’d also want to spend time visiting with them which would delay our arrival in Vancouver. Since we need to be there for a very special event tomorrow afternoon, we decided that it would be better to take a hotel room tonight and get another early start tomorrow. We’ll save the visiting for the way home.

Though today was mostly about covering distance, we did enjoy a picnic lunch at a rest stop just west of Obed Summit, the highest point on the Yellowhead highway. A few hours later, we also made an unscheduled stop when we discovered that Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies was almost completely cloud free. Time after time, as we’ve made this trip, we’ve hoped for a glimpse of this majestic giant only to find it shrouded in cloud. Today, we stood on the deck of the visitors centre and watched in awe as only a few small clouds drifted over the mountaintop.

The blog has been oddly silent lately but, as many of you know, it’s seeding time in farm country and we are busy trying to get a crop in the ground before we have to leave for Vancouver on Wednesday.

When I first started filling in all the various things we hoped to accomplish and places we hoped to be during April and May on the calendar, I wondered how we’d possibly manage it all especially when so many things depended on a baby being born at the right time or the weather cooperating! Way back in early January, I began to pray that God would work out the timing as I knew that these things were way beyond my control. April came and went and everything fit together perfectly but I must admit that I was beginning to panic when the first week of May brought rain and snow that  left our previously thirsty land too wet for seeding. My faith may have been small but He who knows the number of our days (Psalm 39:4) was faithful. This week perfect weather has allowed us to put in several long, uninterrupted days and we have made excellent progress.

Things didn’t go quite as smoothly today but still much was accomplished. First, replacing the air conditioner motor on Richard’s tractor delayed him for an hour or so. Air conditioning may sound like a luxury but when you’re working in an enclosed cab, completely surrounded by windows with the sun streaming in, it’s essential. Without it, he would soon have been roasted Richard!

Then the fuel pump in the old half ton that serves as a multi purpose chore truck and carries the tank used to refuel the tractors sprung a leak. I love that old red and white Dodge and am glad that it’s only temporarily out of commission but in the meantime, until it’s repaired we needed another way to get gas to the tractors. Fortunately, Louis’ stepson had a spare tank that was soon loaded on the back of one of his trucks for us to use.

Regardless of the circumstances, Louis’ equipment never runs on Sundays and I respect him for that. This means that we have just three days left before our departure. Commitments in Vancouver (more about that later) mean that we cannot delay but if the weather continues to be favourable and we don’t have any major breakdowns, we could be finished. If not, we should be close enough for Louis to be able to finish without us.

After several weeks of threatening to come early, our first granddaughter was born at 3:51 this morning on her due date! When Melaina saw the obstetrician in his office yesterday morning, he told her that she had begun dilating and that he didn’t expect she’d have to wait much longer. He didn’t seem particularly surprised to see her at the hospital just 10 hours later.

By late afternoon yesterday, it was becoming apparent that birth might be imminent. After four episodes of false labour over the past few weeks, Melaina didn’t want to get her hopes up though. She and I went for a walk to the library a few blocks away in hopes that that might help her labour progress. By supper time, she was clearly in a lot of discomfort and by the time we got Drew to bed, it was time for Melaina, Aaron and I to head for the hospital. Just 7 1/2 hours after we got there, Jami-Lee Marie entered the world! She weighed 7 pounds 11.7 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Though I’ve given birth three times, I’ve never been in labour. My children came to me via prescheduled c-sections and adoption. Being with Melaina through labour and delivery, watching the miracle of birth and cutting the umbilical cord were truly wonderful privileges for me and I was so proud of my little girl!

Aaron and I got home in time to catch a little over an hour’s sleep before Drew woke up and the new day began! Later Richard and I took him to the hospital to visit Mommy and meet his baby sister. After devouring most of Melaina’s leftover lunch, he took quite an interest in the baby pointing out her nose, mouth, eyes and ears and gently petting her downy head! Though she wasn’t born with the amazing thatch of black hair that he had and her colouring is fairer than his was, Jami-Lee looks an awful lot like her big brother.

Melaina had hoped to come home later today but because she bled a little more than is usual, she’s being kept in hospital until tomorrow. She’s anxious to get home and finish preparing for Drew’s second birthday party on Saturday though!

I seldom watch awards shows like the Grammys or the Junos and when I do, it’s mostly to see what the women are wearing! Who will look elegant? outrageous? just plain ridiculous?

Though Friday evening’s award ceremony wasn’t that kind of affair, it was the sort of event where women wonder what they ought to wear and many of us probably looked around when we arrived to see if we had made the right choice. I felt very comfortable wearing the jacket that I finished making recently!

Last night we drove to Springbrook, southwest of Red Deer, to attend the 2009 Taylor Award presentation ceremony. The recipient was Richard’s sister, Susan Hall.

The Taylor Award was established in 2001, the International Year of Volunteers, and is presented annually to an outstanding prison volunteer by Corrections Services Canada. The award was named after Dr. Charles Taylor and his wife, Charlotte, of Wolfville, Nova Scotia for their lifetime dedication to faith-based counselling with offenders in both correctional facilities and the community and for Dr. Taylor’s contribution to the development of prison ministry education.

Sue was nominated for the award by the Prairie region, one of five regions across Canada, and was subsequently selected as last year’s winner. She was instrumental in bringing the Christopher Leadership Course to the Bowden Penitentiary in 1991 and over the past 18 years has taught the course to 29 classes of inmates. The 10 week course, taught by dedicated volunteers, focuses on building confidence and communication skills through public speaking. While Sue received many accolades during last evening’s event, the most meaningful were the testimonials given by three inmates who were allowed to attend under supervision. They spoke eloquently of the difference that Sue and the skills that she taught them have made in their lives.

In addition to proudly celebrating a sister’s accomplishments, we enjoyed a couple of unexpected surprises last night. During the initial meet and greet we began chatting with a woman who is a director of the John Howard Restorative Justice program in Truro, Nova Scotia. We happened to mentioned our visit to Mahone Bay last summer. The conversation went something like this:

She:  Oh, you know Mahone Bay!

Richard:  Yes, we were actually visiting friends who live at Indian Point.

She:  Indian Point! What part?

Me:  Right out on the point next to the water.

She:  Oh my goodness! What are their names?

As I began to tell our pen pal story (see my posts of June 19 to July 2, 2009), we quickly learned that her mother is Myrna and Ron’s close neighbour, that she knew we had visited last summer and that she thought she’d actually seen us while she and her family were loading their boat in preparation for their annual excursion to their cottage on one of the islands off the point! Amazing!

Then, a little while later, as we stood in line at the buffet table we were next to a couple of tables of seniors dressed in white shirts and green vests. They were the choir who would entertain a little later in the evening. I noticed one of the lady’s name tags and was surprised to find that I recognized the name! Looking more closely, I realized that she was indeed someone I knew, a lady who had been part of the music ministry team in our church for many years! She and her husband moved to Olds more than ten years ago and I hadn’t seen her for several years. It is indeed a small world!

We got home from Vegreville at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday and left again at 10:00 this morning after spending just 40 hours at home!

During the 24 hours that we were actually awake, we attended a missionary service at the church that brought back great memories of one of the Southeast Asian countries we’ve visited and watched the Bible study and Marriage Course videos that we missed last week.

We had coffee with a dear friend and responded to a few phone messages. We spent quite awhile on the phone with an H&R Block income tax preparer making sure that we’d be able to meet Revenue Canada’s April 30th deadline. We usually file our own income tax returns but since we’re still dealing with foreign income this year it’s a bit complicated and we’re leaving it in the hands of the experts.

I did three loads of laundry and repacked the suitcase, a somewhat difficult task at this time of year when the season seems to change from day to day. Would we need winter, spring or summer wear? I tried to pack a bit of each.

The one day that we were home was also the day the golf course opened. What a stroke of good luck! We toured the newly renovated clubhouse, bought our season’s memberships and played a round. I even managed to have my best first round ever!

We walked to the library and exchanged our books.

This morning we watered the plants, put the garbage out and left for Calgary. No, Melaina hasn’t had the baby yet but she’s reached the point where she could use our help so we’ll continue the wait here. She’s been in serious nesting mode the past couple of days, cleaning house from top to bottom. Surely baby must be coming soon!

Vegreville is probably best known for the world’s largest pysanka or Ukrainian Easter egg which was erected on the outskirts of town in 1975 to commemorate the centennial of the RCMP. The gold, silver and black design of the 9.4 metre high egg reflects the traditional art of the many Ukrainian settlers who made this part of Alberta their home. Richard and I enjoyed a walk over to the egg today. Though a giant egg may seem to be a rather strange monument, it did look quite striking as this afternoon’s wind gently turned it on its pedestal and its 3500+ pieces of polished aluminum shone in the afternoon sun.

A couple of months ago I received an email from my sister offering me an all expenses paid week in Vegreville! I’ve often dreamed of winning an all expenses paid trip; an exotic location, a beach resort perhaps, or maybe even a European tour but I’m absolutely certain that Vegreville wasn’t anywhere on that list of dream destinations! For those who aren’t familiar with this part of the world, Vegreville is a community of approximately 5500 people located about an hour north of our home and an hour east of Edmonton.

What my sister actually had in mind was someone to spend nine days with her three teenage sons while she and her husband visit their daughter, Emily, who’s presently in Bermuda with the MV Logos Hope, the Operation Mobilization missions ship that she serves on. I told Linda that we’d be happy to oblige as long as she had a back up plan in case Melaina decides to have the baby this week. The boys are 15, 16 and 17 years old so they don’t really need babysitting. They’re pretty self sufficient but not quite ready to be left entirely on their own for that length of time.

The boys are homeschooled but we made it clear that we were coming as auntie and uncle, not as teachers. We’ll do our best to see that they devote enough time to their studies but other than that, they’re pretty much on their own this week as far as schooling is concerned. Most of their studies are done online so I don’t think they’ll suffer unduly.

Homeschooling vs public schooling is an issue that my siblings and I have long agreed to disagree on. My brother’s children were also homeschooled until recently and are now attending a small Christian school. It was definitely a bit weird being a public school teacher in a family where no one else of my generation agreed with the concept but our children always made it clear that they felt that our choice was the best one for them and I think their lives today prove that they were right.

Linda and Jeff flew out this morning and when we arrived several hours later all three boys appeared to be working diligently. Linda had prepared supper in advance and all I had to do was warm it up. Beginning tomorrow, I’m on my own as far as cooking is concerned but she’s divvied up most of the other household chores between the boys so it looks like it could be a pretty simple week.

Melaina is still threatening to have the baby anytime so we’re not sure how long we’ll actually be here. She’ll see the obstetrician again tomorrow so maybe we’ll have a better idea after that. In the meantime, we’ll be waiting here instead of at home.

Melaina is 37 weeks today. Though her due date is still 3 weeks away, her pregnancy is technically considered full term. We had a bit of a false alarm again yesterday and thought that we might be heading for Calgary last night but once again, nothing happened and we continue to wait. Judging by the pictures she posted today, I don’t see how the wait can go on much longer. She looks like she’s about to explode! No wonder she’s uncomfortable.

We knew that once we turned the calendar page to April, life was going to become quite unpredictable. Though there are many things penciled in, everything is subject to change depending on when the baby arrives. We do know that we’ll be away from home next week but will we be holding down the fort in Vegreville while my sister and her husband get away to Bermuda or will we be in Calgary getting to know the newest member of the family? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, we enjoyed a wonderful Easter. It began early Sunday morning when we watched via webcam as grandson, Drew, searched for Easter eggs. We loved his happy dance every time he found one! Soon we were off to the church for a celebration that began with a delicious breakfast. After church, we drove to Vegreville to join my sister and brother and their families for the remainder of the day.

The trip to Vegreville was also a trial run. Knowing that Melaina could phone at any time to tell us that it was time to come, we packed everything that we’d need to take to Calgary into the vehicle with us! Calgary is a 4 hour drive from either Sedgewick or Vegreville but if we’d had to come back here first, it would have added an hour to the trip. As it turned out, when the day was over we came home to continue our wait but we now know that we can have everything in the vehicle and be on our way in half an hour or less!

It looks like baby has decided to stay put for awhile longer. Melaina continues to have mild contractions but they’re neither regular nor frequent. After a couple of frustrating days, she’s feeling much more positive today and we all recognize that another week or two in utero would help ensure that baby’s lungs are fully developed and that she doesn’t have any breathing difficulties at birth.

In the meantime, I’m having breathing issues of my own. Thanks to Richard, who is almost over his, I’ve come down with a nasty head cold. At this point, they probably wouldn’t want me anywhere near a hospital so Melaina says she’s told the little one to hold on until Gram is better. Let’s hope she listens!