Today I am thinking of France...two weeks until we leave...Can you see 'paris' in Davina's Friday outfit? Oh...the anticipation!



Mentioning anticipation can you imagine waiting for your whole years worth of food, supplies and goodies?
Last week Friday I was told my shipment was to arrive...now another week has gone by...will it come today, tomorrow, next week, month, year...? Keep wishing for me!

On fridays I fill my tin with treats for the weekend...

I have wondered what I would write for my next post after sharing about Timothy…
Early this morning, long before day broke along the horizon, long before the call to wake came for another day.
I woke, my body tired, my mind and heart were active, wandering through emotions, memories, plans and prayers, I wondered again what I should write…then all the loving letters, emails, comments that you sent came rushing into my thoughts bringing comfort and encouragement. I want to thank you, each of you, for the love you placed around us. The last few days we have felt your breath giving us strength. Thank you…these words seem small but they come from the deepest parts of gratitude!



Timothy Andrew Duits
Age: (Almost) twenty-four.
Number three in the line of the eleven Duits children.
Characteristics: hilarious, gets a kick out of teasing his sisters and mother, a deep feeler, loves to talk,
Job: Owns and manages a landscaping company.
Drives: a huge black truck that sounds really loud…
Loves: God, his family and expensive jeans
Music: as eclectic as his character
Timothy has two brain tumours, both in very complicated parts of the brain.
Has slow growing cancer.
Waiting for treatment plan
In the mean time he is sticking close to God and family…we all talk every day (with God and each other).
Tim continues to tease us Duits gals…like yesterday when he called my parents and got his eleven-year old sister on the phone…I heard it went something like this

Tim: “Oh good, I needed to talk to you Kate…”
Kate: “ya, what about”
Tim: “I think we should rob a bank…ya’know grab a load and run…”
Kate: “ well Tim, morally that would be very wrong, also your really not that fast of a runner”
Tim: “Good job Kate you just passed ‘temptation to rob a bank’ test!”
Kate: “Tim, your something else”
Tim: “Yep. A really fast something else”!

Later that evening he called me to order a couple flapjacks…

Cancer, once only a distant sorrow, visited to others around me, has become a presence in our life. The truth of this illness fills our breath, our thoughts, our heart. I wake with a fog that lingers over our life. Our dear brother Timothy…has been told Cancer is in his brain. How do I describe my teetering emotions? We as a family stand on the edge of a valley, unfamiliar and frightful. Moments of my day are held up by the strings of denial, fear, hope, peace, tears, uncertainty, and acceptance. As the days are passing, fight is filling our souls. We have found the strength to be brave and thrust ourselves into this valley. We hold on to each other and the love we have as siblings… I burrow my hand deeper into the tight grasp of my heavenly father’s. We keep our eyes locked onto the eyes of our creator, asking for wisdom, for healing, for hope, for the miraculous peace that passes all understanding.

With tears,
Rosaleen

Happy Monday, I hope each one of you had a wonderful late August weekend...did you picnic with a basket full of fresh strawberries or wild blackberries? I sure wish I did... though I had no fresh berries to stimulate the ideals of summer I did find white roses to grace my home! Of course this brought my whole weekend to a new level of enjoyment! I got to use my new thrift store treasure to display them, a vintage white milk glass vase...paid a whole whopping 99 cents for it at S.M.A.C!

I spent my weekend refinishing some furniture (pictures will be appearing soon). We were told our shipment was to arrive this weekend and here we are in the new week with no idea where and when my shipment will get to my home, and of course the only contact number we have is not working! I think I'm meant to live in Nigeria to learn patients...
Hope you all have a lovely Monday... make a wish for me that my things will arrive...SOON!

Today Davian and I were chatting...

Mommy: "Davina, I love you my little daughter"

Davina: "I'm not a Doctor!"

Mommy: " No Davina, your my daughter, not a Doctor, just like Marion's my daughter."

Davina: "Marion's not a Doctor, she's a princess!"

How can you reason with that?

These little buttons have been featured on this blog a few times already...way back when Marion started counting...then when she swallowed one...and now when she made a line of 100 buttons! I got her to put numbers in increments of 10...20...30... and so on. I just love watching that girl's innovative way of learning!

It is that time of year... A bit early for us Canadians, I know. But all the children are home from their various travels, bags are packed and school beckons the young mind. I thought a party would be a great way to bring the kids together after been apart for a few months and allow any of the newbies a chance to meet the others. Even though we are not starting Marion's formal education this year it was a good way to make her feel included as all her other friends start their school life... We had a wonderful time eating and greeting and sharing our stories of the corner of the world we visited over the summer.


Each cup cake had a letter that read Back To School...




Sweet little matchbox-tic-tac holders for a treat in the lunch box.

The End

This week brings most people back to Nigeria...American schools start next week. It is wonderful seen our Friends. Yesterday our really good friends returned giving us a great excuse to bring them some welcoming food and treats!




My two little timbits joined in on the giving fun...making a package of tic-tacs for there buds(picture: bottom right).

We are in the middle of a wonderful weekend...Roger was away alot the last few weeks so took a Friday to play with his girls and let me off 'duty' for a few hours. In which I went to a wonderful pantry sale and found some great things that made me happy. A whole bunch of Martha Stewart Home, Martha Stewart Food magazines, a dozen or so readable books, a lovely large white cake stand. I came home a happy gal to find two happy little gals playing with their Daddy.

This is a hospital Marion set up this morning...looks so happy and bright...wish they all were like this....


Waiting room.




Flowers on every bed side!


And if all those pictures of hospitals don't make you a little woozy how 'bout a couple hundred ants annihilating drops from Davina's dinner? Of course you can not see the stream of ants in en route...there we billions...BILLIONS PEOPLE!


Have a great weekend!

Dear Daddy,

I am miserable with out you. When you are gone I feel as if the world is not right. My tears are plenty and very big. All the fun things in life are dimmed with out you to share them with. My thoughts are preoccupied with questions of where you are. I do not like been left behind…you know how much I would love to go on the helicopter with you and work on a big ship that makes lots of noise, and I would really love to sleep on the bunk bed with you. It would be my dream Daddy! I just can not understand why I was left behind! I sing to you all day, I talk to Mommy about you ALL day, I cry a lot for you, I love you that much! Please come home soon!

Love your Davina Rose

Kithed and translated by Mommy.

I am excited to show you around my new home. I am waiting patiently for my shipment to arrive...then I can finish off my home and share with you what it looks like. For now I can give you a just a bit of a peek...

This is my older brother Jason. He is up in the tree...high up! Can you see him? Jason is a tree care provider. This tree job was declined by a couple other tree companies, due to the risk. Jason took this tree on. Apparently completing the job in two hours! This tree is growing on a tilt over a thirty foot cliff. And my bro is up on top! I did not hear exactly what the job was but I think he had to de-limb(is that a word?) it.

















Good job Jason...glad your still alive!

xox Your sista.

Saturday morning fresh juice.
tomatoe/cabbage/garlic---carrot ginger---apple cucumber.














I thought I would try to redeem myself as a health nut. After all the delicious postings about the wonderful junk I have been making...you must all be wondering where the real Rosaleen has gone?! Behind the scenes of all those tasty bakes, this is what goes on.

10 kilo tomatoes
5 kilo cucumbers
10 kilo carrots
6 heads of lettuce
1 bunch leeks
1 kilo green peppers
1 kilo red peppers
1 kilo bok choy
1 kilo red/white onions
1 kilo garlic
1 large green cabbage
10 large avocado
bag of cilantro
bag of parsley
bag of basil
bag of dill
bag of mint
1 bunch spring onions
5 kilo grapes
3 large pineapples
2 large papaya
5 large mango
60 apples
40 oranges

That is my produce list for the week, and that is what we consume! Yummy!