Big Changes for Nick

After a mere 8 months since first dislocating his shoulder, Nick did it again in mid-August. We're still waiting to see if surgery will be required, but as the doctor says, it will depend on how it heals. The injury put a crimp in his plans, however, as he had been accepted for an internship with a year-round youth camp in Ontario starting the beginning of Sept. Due to the physicality of the work involved, he had to withdraw his application.

Without a drivers license, and with his injury hampering his ability to find a job, he was at loose ends until he decided to go back to school. Then came a hectic week of applyig and being accepted at a Bible College and finding quarters when the school year had already started. But when God has a plan, He makes a way.

On Sept 10, Nick and I headed up to formally apply at Horizon College and Seminary in Saskatoon, SK. Nick had already done the groundwork via the internet and emailed his Montmartre High School and Eston College transcripts to Horizon. But as the dorm was full, we needed to find him accomodation.

A visit to the college for the necessary paperwork proved Nick to be enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts degree program with a major in Youth Ministries.

Next, we checked out a condo owned by the family of a UofS student who was looking for a roommate. Nick liked it, the rent was great, and his new roomie looked easy to get along with. They shook hands, and that was that. And then we headed back home where Nick used his time to check in with his doctor and see about having his driver's license re-instated which he'd lost after his Dec 2013 seizure - the one where he fractured his arm on Christmas Eve.

Three days later on Sat, Sep 13, we loaded up the van with Nick's bed and stuff and JJ and I drove Nick up to Saskatoon.

Nick taking photo of his bed and stuff before heading to Saskatoon, Sep 2014

When we got to Nick's new place, JJ helped him set up his bed which happens to be the bottom bunk of a set they've shared since 1999 when we moved here to Draper's Acres.

Nick and JJ setting up Nick's bed in Saskatoon, Sep 2014

Nick's bed in Saskatoon with the quilt across the foot that was given to him as
his 2012 graduation gift from Church on the Hill in Glenavon, SK.

After a quick trip downtown to get him a student bus pass and groceries, JJ and I left Nick at his new home which was across Circle Drive from the University and College. Without a vehicle or bike, he'd be going to college via public transportation, which was fine by him.

Nick Draper, Saskatoon, SK, Sep 13, 2014

After a week of riding the buses, I received this text from Nick: Buses in Saskatoon shut down, I'll be walking or long-boarding to school pray for the buses to start again

So much for depending on public transportation. Nick and I had talked of getting him a bike, but as he wasn't used to riding one, never mind in the city, and it would be frosty streets soon, we had decided against it. Now I wished I had.

Later that day after a 2 hr walk/long-boaring trek to school where he walked in late, he texted, I think I'm going to go purchase a bike

So, he bought a bike with saddle bags, reflectors, a light, etc and started the hour long daily ride to college. He said he liked it in Sept, but by the time cold October rolled around and Saskatoon Transit still wasn't back on the road, Nick was starting to worry. One painful spill landing on his 'bad' shoulder didn't help.

On Oct 9th, Nick took a bus operated by the Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) to Regina for the Thanksgiving weekend. It was such a blessing to have him home.

Nick catching sight of JJ at the STC terminal, Regina, SK,
 Oct 9th, 2014

We gave him his driver's license which had come in the mail and asked if he wanted to take our Uplander back with him since the bus strike was still on. On Thanksgiving Monday, Nick headed back to Saskatoon with his new wheels...

Brothers, JJ (foreground) and Nick, good-bye hug, Oct 14, 2014

Nick heading back to Horizon College, Oct 14, 2014

Thank you to those remembering Nick in prayer as he handles these big life changes.

John and Betty 2014 Visit

This summer we were blessed by the visit of Nelson's brother, John, and his wife, Betty, from Ottawa, Ontario. It had been ages since we saw them and so it was a special time of catching up. The plan was for them to spend a few days in Regina, then here at Draper's Acres while Nelson was on his days off, then back to Regina before heading home. 

Alice Draper with her kids from L to R - John, Teresa, and Nelson.
Photo taken Aug 2014 in Regina, courtesy of Teresa and Francis Untereiner

Unfortunately, the weather on Nelson's days off were wet and chilly for mid August which kept the farmers out of their field. Most of the time we stayed in the house where JJ hooked my laptop up to our big screen TV via an HDMI cord so everyone could view the genealogy records and old photographs at the same time. This was fantastic because it allowed everyone to contribute to the conversation, sharing memories and correcting misinformation. 

The spattering of rain played havoc with our photo taking sessions though, as you can see by the blotchy photographs.

Both Nick and JJ were working at Circle Square Ranch (CSR) Wolf Creek, and we had to get them back to the ranch right after lunch. In fact, the rest of the staff were inside preparing for a meeting when we were taking these pics, which shows on Jeremiah's face as he's the most logistical one and didn't want to walk in late. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

But as you can see in the above photo, a raindrop is hiding Betty's face, so we went for another one. 

L to R back row - Jeremiah, Nelson, John holding Scout, and Nick.
Front row - Grandma Alice, and Betty holding Peanut.
Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

Hmm, nice shot, but Grandma's face is obliterated and others are hazy. So we tried one more. 

L to R - Jeremiah, Nelson, Scout, John hiding behind Grandma Alice, Betty
with Peanut, and Nick. Taken at CSR Wolf Creek, Aug 2014

And that's a good shot of everyone including the dogs...except John is hiding again, Nelson has lost his smile, and both Nick and Scout are looking to the left where someone has just come out the door to find out what's holding the boys up. *sigh

Since Montmartre is the Paris of the Prairies due to its French history with Montmartre, France on the outsirts of Paris, we stopped at the 1/38 scale model iron Eiffel Tower to give John and Betty some fun pics to take back.

This first one is Nelson telling John and Betty to look wa-a-a-a-a-a-y up so it appears the tower is taller than its actual 30 ft height. 

Nelson taking photo of Betty and John at Eiffel Tower,
Montmartre, SK.

Unfortunately, Nelson never showed me the result of this angle. My version was for John and Betty to move closer to me thus putting space behind them to make the Eiffel Tower look bigger. 

Betty and John at Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

Montmartre is building a real nice park beside the Eiffel Tower and while there, I mentioned that it would be nice to take a photo near the gazebo with the CN Montmartre sign in the background, but after being cooped up while we were in church, and then while we had a big family lunch in Wolseley, Scout and Peanut wanted to go exploring, so the best photo of that excursion is this one of John taking a pic of ME. 

John taking photo of me with Betty and CN Montmartre sign in background.
Taken at the Eiffel Tower Park, Montmartre, SK, Aug 2014

This last one is cropped from one of Teresa's photos and is kind of grainy so I can't enlarge further, but I thought I'd end this post with these 2 precious members of John and Betty's family, Peanut and Scout. 

Peanut and Scout in Regina, SK, August 2014

It was such a nice visit. I hope you come back soon... and bring the kids and grandkids next time. :)

Calgary Tower: A Family Celebration

Today I'm over at Inkwell Inspirations talking about our adventures in the Calgary Tower, just one of the highlights of our trip to Calgary this past weekend to watch Jessie receive her Bachelor of Arts degree. Yay, Jessie!

Not only did we get a spectacular view from the Observation Deck, but some of us (heh) took that step of faith and stood on the glass floor of the Calgary Tower.

JJ and Nick looking down, Jessie and Nelson looking out.
Calgary Tower Observation Deck , Calgary, Alberta, April 20, 2013.

We then spent 2 hours sharing a fine dining experience in the revolving restaurant. A wonderful memory to share at future family get togethers.

The question up for today is:

What's the most memorable thing you've done to celebrate something special?

We're also discussing glass floors and faith.

So whether you want to look at the photos only, or join in the discussion, come on over to:

Calgary Tower: A Family Celebration

Our Christmas Season Diary

Don't laugh, but this is a make-up post for all the weeks I've missed. It's also an answer to those people who keep asking if the kids came home for Christmas. You may have seen most of these on Facebook, but for those who aren't hooked up that social media platform, and also for the record, I present to you our Christmas diary.

Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK, December 2012

The season started when we brought Grandma Alice out to Briercrest Christian College at Caronport, west of Moose Jaw, for a full day of Christmas spirit.

Nelson, his mom, Alice Draper, and his son, Jeremiah,
at Briercrest College, Caronport, SK, Dec 2012

The Briercrest experience involved a musical performance of Scrooge in the afternoon, followed by a fantastic turkey supper while listening to carols played on a harp, and then a choral presentation in the evening. The above photo was taken after the meal and while I admit it's a big fuzzy, the alternative is one that clearly showed the strain of the day - especially if you take in the 2 hr drive in winter driving conditions.

On my Dec 20th wedding anniversary, I headed into Regina to pick up Jessie who was flying in from Calgary. While in the city, I picked up Grandma Alice and we watched the planes come and go while waiting. We brought Grandma home with us so she could watch the Live Nativity our church was presenting the next day at the local Candiac Auction Mart.

What's Happening in the Barn? Finale at Candiac Auction Mart,
Candiac, SK, Dec 21st, 2012

The next morning, Jessica led the Praise and Worship at the Sunday morning service.

Jessica Draper, Praise and Worship leader, Church on the Hill,
Glenavon, SK, Dec 22, 2012

After  Christmas and Boxing Days, Nick's girlfriend, Alana, came to spend a day with us. That was a lot of fun playing the Wii and Connect games as we got to know her. Probably scared her with our competitiveness, too. I didn't want to make a big deal of taking photos of her, but I do have one of her as an angel in the Live Nativity. In the photo below, Alana is on the left side of the back row.

The Angels in Glenavon's Church on the Hill's Live Nativity,
at Candiac Auction Mart, Candiac, SK, Dec 21st, 2012

After Alana, our next guests were my sister Bonnie and her husband, Magnar, from Swan River, Manitoba. They stayed a precious 3 days and Bonnie and I spent some of that time outside. Of course I had my camera with me...

Bonnie Bremnes, at Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK, Jan 1st, 2013

I love that photo of Bonnie. Don't you think she looks like one of those women in the Sears catalogue?

Magnar and Bonnie Bremnes with their Vibe at Draper's Acres,
Montmartre, Sk, Jan 2, 2013

The next day, Bonnie and Magnar had to get back to their jobs in Swan River where he's a minister, and a teacher at the Living Word Ministries and Bible College, and she's the college cook. So blessed to have them share some of their down time with us.

No sooner had Bonnie and Magnar left when Crystal, our oldest baby, came home for a visit and left the bright lights of Vancouver, BC behind. Her return was just what we needed for a family photo.

The Draper Family, clockwise starting at 12 o'clock:
Jeremiah, Nelson (dad), Jessica, Crystal, Nicholas, Anita Mae (mom),
taken at Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK, January 2013

And then it was time for the girls to leave. First was Jessie as she had to get back to her final year of classes at Rocky Mountain Bible College in Calgary, AB. Does the term, Daddy's Girl, come to mind?

Jessica Draper and her dad, Nelson at Draper's Acres,
Montmartre, SK, Jan 2013

Here are the kids waiting for Jessie's flight to be called while under the harsh airport lights. They're trying to look serious for Dad. It sort of worked, eh.

Draper kids in birth order, L to R: Crystal, Jessica, Nicholas, and Jeremiah
at the Regina Int'l Airport, Jan 2013.

With the boys back in school, and Jessie gone, Crystal and I got down to some serious stuff like reading and writing. I really like this photo of Crystal because although she can be as loud and boisterous as the rest of them, she enjoys the quiet times, too.

Crystal Anne enjoying quiet time at Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK, Jan 2013

Crystal Draper out walking past Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK, Jan 2013

Mind you, after one of her jaunts outside with the bitterly cold wind biting her cheeks, she said she was ready to go back to the mild weather on the west coast. Ha ha.

After a wonderful week's visit, it was time to bring my baby to the airport. On the way, we stopped to take a pic of the sunrise and I like to think it's a beautiful reminder of her visit home this Christmas season.

Crystal Anne Draper and a Saskatchewan sunrise east of Francis, Jan 2013

And then she was off to Vancouver where her lonely sweetie, Chris, was waiting for her.

West Jet flight out of Regina Int'l Airport, January 2013

And there, my diary of our Christmas season from Dec 2012 to Jan 2013 is now posted for all our friends and relatives to see.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through time at Draper's Acres. You're welcome back anytime. : ) I'll leve you with this final photo taken from my kitchen view on New Year's Day.

Jan 1st, 2013 Sunrise, Draper's Acres, Montmartre, SK

West Edmonton Mall

Last weekend, the family and I left our farm at 4 am and drove west on the TransCanada Hwy#1 471 miles (758 km) to Calgary, Alberta. Near Swift Current, we encountered slippery roads - emphasized when a pickup pulling a trailer spun off the highway in front of us. As you can see in this photo, the median between the divided highway is quite wide and shallow, so the driver didn't flip or roll.

We arrived in Calgary by mid-afternoon and went straight to Rocky Mountain Bible College to watch our daughter practice her 2 hr choir session. By 7 pm, we were back on the road - our daughter, Jessie included - and headed another 183 miles (295 km) north to Edmonton, the capital of Alberta. Again, halfway there we encountered roads slippery with slush while sleet slowed the heavy traffic, and finally arrived at 10 pm. Even with the 2 bouts of icky weather, we'd been blessed to arrive safely. It was the end of Jan on the prairies, after all.

Friday morning saw the Nelson and Nick head out to the BreakForth Praise and Music Conference which was a short 15 min walk from our hotel, along the park with a view of the river valley.




360 deg photo taken with iPhone. Our hotel is tallest bldg in middle left.


I wanted to visit the History Museum, but Jessie and JJ wanted to check out West Edmonton Mall (WEM). Since this was Jessie's only day to sightsee, I gave in and drove the two teens to North America's largest shopping mall. I mean really, what teen wants to see a stuffy history museum when they can shop in the 5th largest mall in the world. I've been calling it the world's largest mall without realizing it lost that distinction in 2004.

To give you an idea of the size, here's the Wikipedia entry:  West Edmonton Mall covers a gross area of about 570,000 m2 (well over 6 million sq ft). There are over 800 stores and services and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 28.2 million visitors per year; it also attracts between 60,000 and 150,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season. The mall was valued at C$926 million in January 2007.

And then this from the CBC 1985 archives: With eight major department stores, seven amusement parks, a chapel, a bingo hall and a NHL-sized hockey rink, occasionally used by the Edmonton Oilers, the West Edmonton Mall covers the equivalent of 104 football fields.

Mark Messier & Wayne Gretzy celebrate 1 of 4 Stanley Cup Oiler wins

Suffice to say, although I was looking forward to the exercise, I was not looking forward to sharing the experience with 59,999 other shoppers. I needn't have worried. The mall is so spread out, I didn't feel pressed in by people at all. Well, not until 4 pm when school ended and suddenly the mall teemed with kids! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I hadn't been back to WEM since the early 80's when a young Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers and was rumored to be one of the backers for the ambitious project. Back then, WEM ran 7 submarines and for a fee - $8 a person if I remember - you could go down into a sub for a ride around the lagoon and see all the sea creatures - everything from blue fish to nurse sharks. It was quite exciting. I was also looking forward to seeing the Aviary.




The 8 person sub looks small beside the full-size Santa Maria.

 Things changed since my last visit 25 yrs ago. The aviary has been turned into a huge oval kiosk. And only 2 subs remain, neither open to the public. When I look at that little sub now, I can't imagine 8 people used to fit in them. But it sure was fun.

One of the new attractions JJ was quite taken with was RopeQuest. While Jessie went shopping, JJ was challenged by 4 levels of rope rigging. He enjoyed it so much, he wanted to return each day. We didn't as we had other places to see.



JJ walking across the lower level of challenges at RopeQuest at WEM

 We peeked into the 5-football field-size waterpark to see the huge wave simulating the ocean, but it wasn't on the agenda for this trip. Neither was the mini-putt although it was very tempting.



Putt 'n' Glow Mini-putt course

  As mentioned before, we loved the salt-water lagoon and spent most of our time there.

Behind the full-size Santa Maria

This place is huge and rises the full 3 floors of the mall.


Looking toward the Santa Maria. Jessie and JJ are on the bridge.


The sea lion show was great fun. I have some video I'll add if there's interest.

Because we paid to watch the show at Sea Lion's Rock, we were able to go down into the Sea Life Caverns where they had small pools where you could touch skates (rays) and sea anemones.


Jessie allowing a starfish to investigate her palm with sea anemones on the bottom.

Back in the '80s, Glaxayland consisted of a dozen neat rides like the old-fashioned swings that spun you horizontal when it got going, a carousel, and a swinging galleon. My favourite was the balloon ride.



One of the original Galaxyland (Fantasyland) rides.

Everything wasn't so 'puffy' and bright back then, either. And behind/beside the balloon ride was the roller coaster. Now, a new area almost 4 times the size of this old one has been added on and the roller coasters from over there zip over the people on this side...



Tracks from rollercoasters zip from new to old side at Galaxyland.



Instead of 1 rollercoaster, there are now 5 - at least. I was amazed at the engineering expertise that went into fitting so many rides into this area.

I'll close with a sight that awed me from the first moment I saw it 25 yrs ago. I had the same reaction when I saw it again last week... a full size skating rink in the middle of one arm of the mall. This is where Gretzy and the Oilers used to practice and it always grew huge crowds. Today it's used by different organizations, but there's still public skating on the schedule and skates are available for rent.

JJ seeing the Ice Palace for the first time.

So, have you ever been to West Edmonton Mall? What about another mall the same Canadian owners have built... the Mall of America in Minnesota?

This post is cross-posted at Inkwell Inspirations today - Feb 6th.

Christmas in January

December was a quiet month for the Draper Family. Sure we made and decorated Christmas cookies...

We observed the beautiful sunrise on December 25th, gleeful at the lack of snow after an inspiring Candlelight service at church the night before. Yes, Christmas is beautiful with lightly falling snow, but usually we're knee deep in the stuff and tired from shoveling. This year we shared a quiet celebration of the birth of Jesus over 2000 years ago and commemorated the occasion by opening 'Santa' gifts, crazy as it sounds. The gifts were to keep everyone busy until our real Christmas celebration when the girls came home in January. 

We picked  Jessica up on January 1st after she flew in from a relief mission in Vietnam. It'd been July when we last saw her on our Thunder Bay trip. She looked great and was all excited about her trip. When she sat at the table drinking coffee and reading Rachelle McCalla's Love Inspired Suspense, it seemed like she'd never left home.

 

On Jan 10th, Crystal flew in from rainy Vancouver - or was it snowing this year on the west coast? With her arrival, our family of 6 was complete once more.

January 11th dawned as our day of delayed Christmas gift-giving. The sunrise wasn't as colorful as it had been on Dec 25th, neither had there been a huge snowfall.

While I worked in my office garage during the days, Jessie had joined me to practice her piano and from that, we found out she was still composing, but needed a new keyboard - one with the ability to use headphones so she could block out her roommates when needed. So in the photo below, the huge present on the left is a new keyboard with tracks for composing, a headphone jack, and a slot for a 32GB memory card.

One thing about setting up the tree this year... when our basement flooded last summer, the water didn't reach the 'Christmas closet' beneath the basement statirs, but it did get damp. I'm not sure if that's the reason, but when we set up our pre-lit tree, 80% of the lights didn't work. Nelson spent 2 hrs looking for the 'bad' light, yet couldn't find it. Later, at a Canadian Tire store where we went to buy more lights, I mentioned to the clerk that we had hoped the Christmas trees would be on sale and yet the stores didn't have any left. She said everyone was having trouble with their pre-lit trees.

So, I ask you... is the problem because of the damp year? Or because pre-lit trees are made to only work for 10-12 years before burning out? Since all the lights go out if one burns out and they make them without the capability of replacing the bulbs, only two options remain: buy a new tree, or buy new lights. We chose the latter because we couldn't find a cheap enough tree to replace our 10 yr old one. Instead, we bought new LED lights. As you can see from the photo, the new lights don't give off the light that the old ones do except for the blue which outshines the rest.

I also have to give credit to Nelson and the boys who contributed a huge amount of effort to this year's tree and decorations.

Although it was the middle of January, when it came to being with each other and sharing our laughter, the calendar date didn't really matter.

I realized something as I posted the above photo...it's strikingly similar to a photo taken in 2009:

Nick was more laid back this year. Possibly because of maturity now that he has his driver's license.

But probably because he's waiting for JJ to finish hamming around with his Reese's Peanut Butter Cup which weighed in at a hefty half pound.

Would we do another Christmas in January? While it isn't our preference, yes we would, if it means we can all be together. After all, we don't need a calendar to remember Christ's birthday. We can - and should - celebrate it any day.

Have you ever had a Christmas on a day other than December 25th?