Happy Birthday Evert!

We attended a family reunion yesterday in Peterborough ON where my brother Evert lives.  The reunion was held in his church.  We sent Evert home after lunch and while he was gone, some of his friends came over to surprise him.  I made this card for him in the morning before I left, and then typical of me, forgot to bring it with me to give to him so I will mail it to him in the morning.  When Evert came back, he was quite surprised to see his friends that came to wish him well on his birthday.  There was lots of food and we had a blast!

Here is the inside of the card:

Unfortunately, some of my family members couldn't make it to the reunion due to other commitments. My SIL   Claire who is married to my brother Peter was unable to make it as she is in the hospital recuperating from pancreatitis.  Peter is in a nursing home.  He has been ill for a long time with Alzheimer's disease as well as Parkinson's disease.  Herb and I stopped in to see Claire on our way home.  Please keep her in your prayers.

I enjoyed catching up with my family that was there.  My niece Krista (Evert's daughter) is a CTMH consultant and she brought along the scrapbook album that she made for the 2 trips she and her hubby made to El Salvador and Nicarauga. Her husband Chris is a pharmacist and he volunteers for FTC Canada (Feed the Children).  He has made several trips with FTC Canada to distribute much needed medications and vitamins to the people.  Krista has made 2 of the trips with Chris and has worked right along side of him to help out.  She has written an account of the trip to El Salvador on her blog.  It is quite a humbling experience.  I must say that I admire both of them for volunteering their precious time to this cause.  The scrapbooking she did is absolutely wonderful and gives a full account of their experience.

Krista also made an album for her twin brother Tony and his wife Theresa documenting the experience they had 2 years ago when their then 10 month old son, Benjamin underwent open heart surgery at Sick Children's Hospital here in Toronto to repair a hole in his heart.  Ben will be 3 in August and is a real going concern as he was running all over the hall yesterday.  To see him today you would not know that he was a very sick little boy 2 years ago.  I also got to meet the newest member of their family yesterday.  Samuel joined Tony & Theresa's family in Nov. of last year.  He is a happy healthy baby and was quite content to sit and watch everyone and chew on anything and everything he could put in his mouth as he is teething.

Krista also made an album for her parent's 35th wedding anniversary last year which also found its way to the reunion.  It was fun going through the album and looking at all the old pictures.

All in all, we had a busy day and I was pooped when I came home.