Opening her eyes for the first time since the surgery!

After 2 1/2 weeks we get to hold her!

The ventilator is out!
PICC line inserted

Family Portrait

Five Weeks!

The suit says "Apple of Daddy's Eye"

Elysha Finds Her Thumb

This was taken two weeks ago...

She hasn't sucked her thumb since!

One Month!!!

A Few Changes...

The Monday following my previous post Richard and I attended our weekly doctor's appointment at Mount Sinai...and didn't leave the hospital for a week. Well, Richard did, I had to stay. Hence the long gap between posts.


But all 3 of us are home!!! The Lord has certainly answered our prayers, & the prayers of others, far better than we ever imagined. For all the details, visit our website (link on the right).


I'll be posting non-medical stuff here - like these pictures.

Daddy having devotions with Elysha - starting with songs from "Kabompo Sings" - a hymn book from Zambia

Yes, she is holding the bottle up by herself - with her mouth of course but she is trying to grab hold!
Elysha has long conversations with her giraffe. She just loves to stare at it!




Two little monkies...well one big one & one little!

Fancy Breakfast

My dear husband surprised me last weekend with an amazing breakfast! Even the presentation was perfect. I've been on bedrest for the last few weeks so this was a wonderful treat!





Homemade waffles with fresh fruit. Berries in the bowl in the middle of the table surrounded by sliced bananas.

As long as I can remember, my mother has been knitting. She started at age 4 so you can imagine that by now, she's an expert. She recently presented us with a "few" things for the baby...with more to come! The blanket was also made by Mum, folded up so that it could fit in the shot.

Because our baby will need immediate hospitilization, we were told that clothes were unnecessary at this stage, but mitts, booties, and hats were good to have. She may not be able to wear all of them at once because of the leads and i.v.'s that she'll have in. But Mum found a way to get around that, at least as far as the hats are concerned. Explanation is below.

The hats like the one below all have hold strategically placed around the top so that the leads can come through. One at the very top and the rest around the crown. Amazing!
But they are small enough that the yarn "stays together" if they aren't needed. I just stretched it out a bit before I took the pictures so you could see where the holes were.

If you would like to keep up to date on our baby's progress, particularly her surgeries and recovery, please visit our website at www.rnbrooks.com

Thanks Mum!!

A Gracious Home

Sunday, September 23rd, Richard was speaking at Fair Havens Community Church just outside of Beaverton. We were offered accomodation for the weekend so we made our way up Saturday evening. The couple we stayed with were wondeful! We were made to feel so welcome and in conversation over the weekend discovered we had mutual friends and that I attended the same church in Windsor their daughter and son-in-law do. We were there at the same time, many years ago of course, but still, another connection!

Below are some pictures of their home...it was like being at a bed and breakfast. Speaking of breakfast...bacon, eggs, toast, juice, fruit, coffee...we were spoiled!

The church family was so welcoming and we again discovered many connections with Zambia, North Bay and Camp ABK! We also met a dear couple with four children, their youngest having been born with a heart defect which necessitated an emergency flight to Sick Kids hospital. They were not aware ahead of time about it so it was a very trying time of many unknowns. We were able to "talk shop" with them for quite a while. Their picture is at the bottom.

The picture above shows the view from the guest room.
Hand made furniture by our host.

Knox Adult Fellowship Annual BBQ

For the past several years, my family have hosted a bbq for the adult fellowship group of Knox Presbyterian Church (where my parents met and currently attend). This year we had about 30 people out. We've done it so long, Mum and I have it down to a science...the best location for the food table, condiment table, chairs, coffee/tea service, how much to make so there are some leftovers (for lunch the next day since we're too tired to cook again) etc. etc. It was a beautiful day; sunny, no humidity (the day before was VERY humid) all in all a perfect day. Thank you Lord!


Just a few shots of some of those in attendance...

Memory of Betty

We came across some back issues of the monthly Missions magazine that highlights news of assembly commended workers around the globe. In 1998, Richard's Aunt Betty was commended (sent out) from her assembly (church) in South River, Ontario. Below is the article about her that was published in November of 1998. Click on the article for a larger copy of it if you'd like to read about her.

Goal for the Future

I think our spiritual expectations of our children need to be raised. Especially after seeing this video. What an encouragement to see a family encouraging their child from a young age to develop a love of the Word of God!

The New Mr. & Mrs. Wahab

I am very behind in pictures so this is a little out of order.

We attended the wedding of our friend Phil on August 4th. He married a wonderful and well suited woman from Ohio, where the wedding was held. Richard had been asked to be one of the ushers. We headed down just 2 weeks after our return from Pennsylvania. A beautiful drive to a beautiful wedding. We spent the night nearby and then attended morning services at Stephanie's home assembly. They held a fellowship lunch afterwards as there were a number of people from our assembly there as well.

Phil, anxiously awaiting the start of the ceremony.
Stephanie and her bridal party. (Phil's sister Laura is on the far left). Stephanie designed her dress herself. I believe that is her brother on the right.Cutting the cake at the reception. Steph's grandmother made the cake-it's all cake too.
One of the couples at our table. They did a joint reading during the ceremony and rolled out the white runner for Stephanie before she came down the aisle. They were both saved out of the Amish religion.

Phil's brothers' artwork.



The day after the wedding at the fellowship lunch. They left for their honeymoon in the Bahamas on the Tuesday.

Bushkill Falls continued

See below for description.

Allantown/Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Some shots from a beautiful natural reserve we visited called "Bushkill Falls". It advertises itself as "Niagara Falls of Pennsylvania". I don't think they've ever been to Niagara Falls. But it was a beautiful site. Stairs have been built around the area to climb up and down beside the falls. It was a workout!