Updates on the last few months

WOW! Have I got alot of writing to do! I apologize for not keeping up with my blog. It has been a hectic summer. Thank you to those who have left comments. It is always great to hear from whomever is reading this blog. I suppose I will begin with Mothers Day. On this day, it was bitter/sweet for me. I enjoyed opening the home-made gifts from the kids. This was the first Mothers Day, I had received a hand-made gift from Sara. This was possible because she had begun pre-school. Sara was so excited about giving me the gift and watching me open it. She looked so proud of herself. She was really good about keeping it a secret and not telling me what it was. She had to keep it a secret for almost 4 days. She was ready to burst by Sunday! Sara made me this goodie plate. On the plate there were 3 mini-baskets that each contained something different...........little bath oils, candy and 3 smooth stones that were engraved with the words, love, faith and believe. She had painted and decorated everything. It was awesome to receive such a gift. I even took pictures of my first Mothers day gift from Sara. She also said, "Appy Moder Day Mommy!" I love you and I so appy you my foever mamma. She brought tears to my eyes and made my heart sing. I really missed not getting my red roses that day from my Philip. It is difficult not having him around on special occasions...........but there are always people who really care and speak many words through there actions.............it makes it alittle easier to put my best foot forward. I received a lovely flower arrangment from my sister Giovanna and brother-in-law Silvo. I also had my good friend Bill stop by and give me a beautiful hanging basket of red impatient flowers (my favourite colour!). He said he wanted to do it, just incase the kids forgot and because he knew Philip always gave me something on Mothers Day. I also received many phone calls from family and friends. This was all appreciated more then you'll ever know...........Thank-you. We had a really nice afternoon at my mom and dads place. Dad made an excellent bar-b-q, as always. The kids and I and nonno & nonna, played the game, "bocce ball", in the back yard. We had alot of fun together. The month of June........... This was a difficult month for me and the kids especially. About 4 days before Fathers Day, Philip's stone was finally placed on his resting spot. Sara and I call it "Daddy's spot", when we talk about it or we decide to go and visit. I received a phone call to inform me that the stone had been installed. I decided to go and visit, with all 4 kids with me. Anthony (my oldest) was not really wanting to go. He was having the hardest time with it. He didn't want to come out of the car when we arrived and decide to look from afar inside the car. I didn't force him to come out with the rest of us. We visited for about 1/2 an hour. Fathers Day was another difficult day. We came back home at the end of the day from our camp-site. They were distracted all day with there camp-ground friends, which worked out well. We went to visit "Daddy's spot" again and the kids placed there hand-made gifts there. I told them today was the day to think about the wonderful things Daddy did for them and to be thankful for the time they had with him. I told them never to forget how lucky they were to have had a father who loved them more then anything in the world. It was a difficult time, but we got through it.......together. Sometime near the end of June, I decided to go grocery shopping one day. It was just me and Sara. We were having a pretty nice day together. I did all my shopping and we were headed back home when Sara called me. I answered, "Yes Sara". I will never forget what she said, just out of the blue.............."Mamma, I so happy you adopted me. I so proud you are my mamma forever. I love you mommy."...............My eyes began to fill with tears. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. The most amazing and sweetest things come out of her mouth sometimes. I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve to be the mother of this beautiful child. I feel so lucky. My response was, " Oh Sara...I'm so happy you were the one I got to adopt......I'm so proud to have adopted you and I'm so proud of you too. I love you very much". What an excellent and memorable day that was. The whole month of June was spent finishing the last month of school , swimming in our back-yard pool, family events and spending weekends in our camper at the campsite. The month of July.............. In the first week of July, the kids and I left on a road trip with my sister and brother-in-law in their 40 ft motor-home. We visited Newfoundland, Halifax and Quebec City. This was a trip that Philip and I had talked about taking. Philip really wanted to to bring the kids to NFLD for the first time to show them how beautiful it was and to finally introduce them to his dear "newphie" friends that he loved so much. He also wanted to bring them to visit Halifax. We were supposed to be travelling together with our 5th-wheel camper and Giovanna & Silvo with their motor-home. It was decided that we would definitely do this. I knew how much Philip wanted to do this and I knew how much our NFLD friends wanted us to come. This is why I accepted Silvo and Giovanna's offer to go together with them in their motor-home. Thank-you Giovanna and Silvo for evrything! I did this in memory of Philip and I know he would have wanted us to carry on his dream. I'm so glad I decided to go. Jan and George (2 of our friends) were thrilled to know we were coming, when I called. We had an excellent time with everyone there. I felt right at home with them and so did my 4 kids....100% The kids even stayed over-night at Kim & Perri's(couple of doors down from Jan & George's) house numerous times. I thought It was so nice of them to do that. It was very heart-warming to be with everyone there again. They just put us all under their wing and took care of us. The days passed too quickly and we were sad to leave after 5 days and then 2 days in the breath-taking national park, called, Grosmore Park ,just hours away. My kids did not want to leave. If they had the choice ........they would have stayed there at least another week. Everyone there was great. One day we went out on Terry & Shirl's fishing boats to see the massive and amazing ice-bergs and lobster fishing. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We then took the lobster they caught to Edith & Terry's cabin and had the most delicious feast accompanied by home-made white wine chilled with a piece of ice-berg ice. On another special day, George was kind enough to take the boys and Silvo on 4-wheelers in the bush and show them all the cabins that they stayed at when Philip came moose hunting every fall. He also showed them the spot where they caught a moose. I could go on and on. I'm really glad I decided to go because it gave the kids a chance to feel connected to their father. The kids and I would love to come visit again. I would like to say thank-you to everyone who made our stay in NFLD so special. We also had a great time in Halifax. We visited with Giovanna& Silvo's good friends Kathy & Jeff and their 3 awesome kids. They often come to visit Giovanna & Silvo. I found Halifax to be a very beautiful province to visit. Kathy and Jeff were awesome. Kathy was always cooking up a storm and one meal was always more delicious then the one before.(especially Kathy's famous clam chowder!!) They also took us to see many places like Peggy's Cove, Downtown Halifax, one of the beaches ( brrrr! coldest beachwater I ever felt!) and many other places. It was nice to finally visit their beautiful & unforgetable home, they had built on their own, inside and out. Sara enjoyed discovering & collecting her "jewels" in there back-yard sandbox. Apparently Kathy spread tons of coloured glass beads in the sand box and Sara thought she had found a treasure! Well she has now decorated our large planter with them in our front entrance. It actually looks quite nice. Thank-you Jeff and Kathy for all your kindness. I hope to see you's again soon. After Halifax, we off to the church of St. Anne De Beau Pre in Quebec city. We spent the afternoon exploring the church and its surroundings.It looked like one of those beautifully ornate churches in Europe. It was just amazing. We also kneeled at the alter and quietly prayed for our family to have the strength to continue life together with much love for one another. At one point I quietly cried to myself as I prayed to St. Anne ( was Jesus' grandmother). Afterwards we went to a campsite and rested up. The next morning we left with a shuttle bus, which took us to 'Old Quebec City'. We spent the day site-seeing, shopping and eating at a great restaurant. I really liked it. It had cobble-stone everywhere and had musicians and entertainers on every corner. There were artist outdoors, selling their paintings. It was full of streets that were constantly being travelled by horses and buggies. They looked very inviting, especially because we were so tired out walking the streets of Old Quebec City. In some areas it is very hilly and steep. You want to talk about a good work-out! well! that's the place to go. We ended up leaving the camp-site the next morning and we arrived home late that afternoon. It was a good trip, but we were all glad to be back home. Well now we have arrived in August. Soon I'll have to start preparing the kids for their new school year. Sara will begin junior kindergarten. She is very excited about it. She's been asking everyday about what day she will finally be able to go! Sara and I will go on Sept. 6th to meet her new teacher and to see her new classroom. The school wants to give the kids an opportunity to first become acquainted with the teacher, program & procedures. Sara will actually begin school on Tues. Sept. 11th. Wow! I can't believe she's starting J-K ! I'm so grateful to have had Sara at home for alittle over a year, before starting school. Well I've got to go now. I'll try to post alot sooner. Have a great rest of the summer everyone! Looking forward to reading your comments. All the best, Gina