happy birthday, girlies!

My adorable nieces, Molly Georgina and Lola Julianna turned 2 yesterday. From the moment they found out they were expecting twin girls, my sister-in-law and family have experienced a crazy couple of years, full of surprises-- including delivering the twins via C-Section at 32 weeks. I'm sure they never have imagined this is where life would take them--but I know they wouldn't trade it for the world. 

And my, how they've grown since then!

One Year Old!

Two years old!

Raising twin girls (and homeschooling a big brother) has been no small feat! I am so proud of my sister-in-law for everything she has accomplished so far, and for how much she has grown as a person over these past couple of years. Although she would be the first to admit that she's far from perfect, she remains an inspiration to me. (You can view part of her testimony HERE under the "Real Life Stories" tab... and maybe one day, I will have the privilege of sharing more of her story here.)

In honour of their birthday, their mom posted a link to a Music/Video Presentation that beautifully captures the girls' first 8 months through photos. It played at their baptism on Mother's Day (and brought most of the congregation to tears.)

So Happy Birthday, Molly and Lola! 
We love you. 
xoxo

farmer dan

"...He just takes the tractor another round
And pulls the plow across the ground
And sends up another prayer.
He says, 'Lord I never complain, I never ask why,
But please don't let my dream run dry
Underneath this
[Prince Edward County] sky.' " 

-Jason Aldean

**************************************

For the first time in nearly five years, a Dykstra has cut, raked, and baled hay on Cherrie Side Farms. Since my dad's illness and eventual passing in 2010, we have rented out our farmland to two local farmers. Now, 58 years to the day that my grandfather first arrived on this farm, my "little" brother decided to continue the family legacy.

With some encouragement, he took it upon himself to ready the machinery, and then proceed to cut, rake, and bale a field of hay this year.  I was am still bursting with pride that this shy, quiet, gentle-giant-of-a-brother chose to take a leap of faith and embark on a new adventure. 

Watching this part of him come fully alive while on the tractor, was enough for this big sister to get a little misty-eyed. In case you can't already tell, I love this kid and I'm so ridiculously proud of how far he's come in the past few years. 

He's a look at the whole process through the lens of my camera:

Checking everything over on the haybine before heading out.

First round.

A beautiful sight.

Nothing quite like a freshly-cut field of hay!

The rake stands ready.

First round.

Raking the windrows to get the bottom grass dry.

His first bale!

A watchful eye.

A born farmer!

Loading up before the rain.

Brothers at work.

We got the hay in before the rain, and true to form, my brother gave away the whole truckload to a neighbour in need. Now that he's shown everyone (including himself) what he can accomplish, we are excited to see what next summer will bring. 

Thank you to those of you who have encouraged him along the way. Your support means so much!

living room renovations - part 1

For the past month and a half, we have pretty much been eating, sleeping, and breathing renovations. This is the last (and most expensive stressful messy invasive) of them, involving most of our downstairs. Because I haven't been getting many days of work (the school year almost being over), this translates into me sitting in the office listening to the contractors on the other side of the plastic wall all.day.long (not to mention a severe decrease in cash flow at precisely the worst time.) True to form, I have not been handling it all that well, but I am hopeful that the worst is over. 

Here's a look at where we started, and how the whole process is going:

And because we aren't crazy enough, we are renovating the living room at the same time as the kitchen.

The "pink vagina room" (as my hubby not-so-affectionately called it) is no more!

Dan and Adam, being the amazing guys that they are, volunteered their time over the long weekend (who does that?!?) to help us complete the gutting. Bringing down the lath-and-plaster ceiling, strapping, and a layer of drywall was the worst part! (Don't worry, we compensated them for their time and efforts.)

We removed the original layers of floor (yes, there's our new water heater, pressure tank, sediment filter, and UV light - all installed by my super-handy hubby!)...

...as well as all the joists, most of the staircase, and the spray-foam insulation that was in the way.  In doing so, we completely cut off all access to the second storey.

So for a week, we climbed the ladder on to the roof and entered our bedroom via the window. (Let me tell you: it's not all it's cracked up to be in the movies!)

Finally we got the new floor joists installed.

Once we got the sub-floor installed, we could use the ladder indoors. (And by dropping the floor, we've gained over 4" of ceiling height...pretty significant when the ceiling we started with, was a mere 6'11"--not up to code for our woodstove!)

We sister-ed new joists to the original beams from 1880, creating a sturdy, (and level!) surface to work with for the new ceiling.  And finally, the walls got framed!

For the past two weekends, cousin Derek came from Toronto to work on our heating and cooling system.  (FYI: to our friends in the GTA, Derek's company is called DTB Heating Services....we highly recommend him.) Thanks to Derek, we now have central air, and brand new duct-work throughout the whole house!

Next week, my handy hubby will be ready to start the electrical work in the living room, and after that, it's time for insulation.  (Eventually, I imagine we will get some brand new stairs too.) Over the past 6+ weeks, there were times when I thought I would never be able to make it through another day. Yet looking back, we have truly gotten a tremendous amount of work done! 

And one day soon, we will have something that looks like this:

Stay tuned!

spring 2014 in photos

spring has sprung

Apologies for my long absence. For the past few months, things have been pretty crazy around here. Between working full-time during the day, tutoring at night, gardening/yard work, and more renovations, life just doesn't stop! And then, there's a day like today where the phone has been blessedly silent...

I have been supply teaching 4-5 days a week, sometimes having 3-4 different schools calling each morning. I mostly work in primary/junior division classrooms, either as a teacher, Early Childhood Educator, or Educational Assistant. However, I've also recently taught special ed and high school classes. I am enjoying the variety! There is always something new to learn from each school and class. Oh, and did I mention no prep work, marking, or report cards?! (Yeah, that's kind of my favourite part....!) Also, I have kept my current list of tutoring students (and even took on an additional one) and hope to take on a few more during the summer months.

After a miserably long, cold winter, I think it's safe to say that spring has finally sprung! What a joy it's been to finally start working in the garden, cutting the lawn, and going for walks! 

Oh yes, then there's the house renovations...! :S Several weeks ago, we completely emptied and gutted the kitchen.  

Including the floor.

And so, we are now camping out in our office. (Which is also the temporary living room, since the living room is being gutted next weekend.)

Our temporary kitchen looks like this:

So far, it's been working out ok. But I can't wait until I get to cook in this:

A few weeks ago, hubby and I were able to get away for a weekend. We went to Hamilton for a wedding, and we were also able to visit a few of my dear friends from university. 

We have one more wedding to attend this weekend, and then I'm fairly certain that every.single.one of our friends has officially tied the knot. (Bring on the baby showers and kids' birthday parties!)

So it has been a very busy--and at times, chaotic--spring so far. We have a lot of work to do in the next few months, so we covet your prayers (and some extra pairs of hands!) 

downstairs bathroom reno: before, during & after

After nearly a year, we finally completed renovations on our downstairs bathroom. Here's a look at the whole process:

Our downstairs bathroom was actually an ensuite to our former bedroom (now the office). The whole area (including entrance to the cellar), was an addition added to the house in the 1970's. It had a shower, toilet and small vanity--and very little insulation.  So we decided to gut the whole thing and start fresh. The demolition begins!

1. 

 We removed the old bathroom window...

...and put in a cute little window where the former basement entrance was...

...levelled the floor joists, laid new plywood, and famed in the new walls...

...re-did all the electrical wiring and the plumbing...

...installed the jacuzzi and insulated the walls...

....hung & mudded the drywall.......primed and painted the walls, installed the tub surround...

...laid linoleum, hung wainscotting, installed the toilet..

....And after a few finishing touches, our new bathroom was finally finished!