Author Archives: Graham

2008 year in review – 2009 look ahead

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For our Family Home Evening this past week we reviewed the year and talked about what we were looking forward to this year.
Here, in no particular order, is our list of things that were noteworthy in 2008:

  • Andrew ate lots of Nanna’s hospital food
  • Andrew got 2 trophies from bowling in the summer
  • Lisa got a new calling (released as Primary Music Leader and called as Enrichment Leader)
  • We got a new van
  • Andrew got his own room
  • Matthew got his own room (because Andrew got his own room)
  • Matthew got out of Nursery and started Sunbeams
  • We got some of the bathroom redone
  • Christine kept getting cuter
  • Graham kept his calling
  • Matthew learned how to write his name
  • Andrew learned to tie his shoe laces
  • Christine learned to walk (it was a Christmas miracle)
  • Andrew passed a swimming course
  • Matthew passed a swimming course (Sea Turtle)
  • We put in new tiles in the kitchen
  • Andrew really got into LEGO
  • Christine says “Hi” to everyone
  • We spent a lot of time at the hospital visiting Nanny, Mom, and other people
  • Andrew spent the March Break at Grandma and Grandpa’s house
  • Graham started a monthly father/son night
  • Andrew started grade 1
  • Matthew started JK
  • Christine turned 1
  • Matthew turned 4
  • Andrew turned 6
  • Andrew was the student of the month in SK
  • Lisa went in her first craft sale
  • We went to Buckhorn

Here are some things were are looking forward to in 2009, or things we would like to change (quasi-resolutions):

  • Andrew will start grade 2 and turn 7
  • Matthew will start SK and turn 5
  • Christine will turn 2
  • We will go to Florida in February
  • Julia will get married in March
  • Both boys want to pass another swimming course
  • Matthew would like to whine less (honestly, he said this himself)
  • Andrew will listen better
  • Lisa will be more fun (when she said this, the boys yelled out, “Yay!”)
  • Lisa will exercise more regularly
  • Graham will be less of a “junker” (this is the boys nickname for Graham because he always gives them junk food)
  • Graham will keep working on the house
  • As a family, we’d like to do monthly service for someone
  • Lisa and Graham want to get to the temple every month.

In case you were wondering, Graham and Andrew stayed up till midnight on New Year’s Eve. Matthew was allowed to, but was too tired to stay up so he went to bed. Lisa was obviously allowed to stay up, but slept on the couch for a couple of hours. Lisa, Graham, and Matthew were up for the actual date change at midnight.

2008 Christmas Gift Exchange

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This morning I used an advanced algebraic formula along with a secret combinatorial factor supplied by NASA and I figured out who should buy for who (or it is whom?). No one is buy for their spouse, and no one is buying for anyone that they have bought for since we started this.

  • Alisa buys for Julia
  • Andrea buys for Graham
  • Brianna buys for Lisa
  • Dad buys for Andrea
  • Graham buys for Dad
  • Jason buys for Mom
  • Julia buys for Nanny
  • Lisa buys for Jason
  • Mom buys for Brianna
  • Nanny buys for Alisa

Just like last year, the gift is to be approximately $50. Just to be clear (in case anyone asks), there is no rule about spending exactly $50 to the penny, and no rule about whether it is $50 including tax or $50 plus tax. Just get something nice for the person that is close to $50. For the record, it wasn’t until I typed up this posting that I actually paid attention to the fact that Andrea was buying for me and could use her discount. Honestly!

We will be hosting the traditional Christmas Eve party at our house again. Lisa has a couple of new additions to the snacks. She’ll be contacting the various households soon with food/refreshment assignments. Nanny will provide a game again. And of course there will be singing 🙂

With regards to the take-away gift exchange game, there was some small debate as to whether it should continue, what the price should be, how it should be run, etc. One thought was that it was more fun when the gifts were cheaper. Another thought was that the game hasn’t been very fun for a while, and maybe we should do something else. After talking it over, here’s what we are going to do:

  • We’re going to do the gift exchange game one more time this year
  • The price needs to be no more than $10 including tax
  • Everyone needs to purchase something. No baking, giving away freebies that are worth a lot, etc.
  • Remember, the point of the game is buy a gift that someone would want to “steal” from someone else

The point of the rules obviously isn’t to take away from the fun. It’s to make sure we are all doing the same thing so things are fair. If the game is a dud this year, then maybe we’ll come up with something else next year.

I think that’s it. If you have any questions, email Lisa or me and we’ll get back to you…

Matthew’s trip to the hospital

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Last Tuesday night, I was in the bathroom with the boys when they were getting ready for bed. Matthew went pee, and I happened to notice it wasn’t the right colour. It was very dark. By the time I had called Lisa and she came in, it had diluted so it was hard to tell. We were concerned, but waited until he went to the bathroom again. He was up shortly after going to bed, and we agreed that the pee had blood in it. Lisa took him to the hospital.

Matthew hadn’t been complaining about anything really (other than his normal whining), so we didn’t know what the problem was. At the hospital, they checked him out and said things looked fine. They did a urine test, and he had a blood level (whatever they measure, I’m not sure) of 50. This is high. The pediatrician wanted to keep him in over night to do some tests in the morning. By about 1 am Lisa called me to bring some stuff up to the hospital. I called Dad/Poppa, and he came and looked after Andrew and Christine while I went up to the hospital. Within 15 minutes or so of getting there, they took Matthew up to a room in the pediatric wing. It was a private room with a cot in it for a parent to stay. We decided it would be best if I stayed and that way Lisa could deal with things in the morning at the house. By the time Lisa was gone and Matthew and I were settled, it was pushing 3 am.

At about 7:30 Wednesday morning they told me to get Matthew up so he could get an ultrasound done of his abdomen. He didn’t like how cold the gel was, but other than that, he did fine. The technician was super nice.

Lisa made it up to the hospital shortly after 9 am and we waited for about 2 hours for the results. Matthew had his hospital breakfast (he ate almost all of it) and then we went into the playroom. The pediatrician found us there, and said they couldn’t see anything wrong. The blood count in his most recent urine was down to 3. The ultrasound didn’t show anything. They wondered if he had been hit or kicked at all while playing, but Matthew said now.

So, the end result was nothing. Overall, Matthew was very good. He didn’t like the needle he got that they used to take blood in the Emergency Room. He loved the food (he recognized the Corn Pops as the same thing you feed the bears at Marineland). And he certainly entertained the various nurses.

Here are a couple of pictures I took with my cell phone camera:

I’m walking, yes indeed, I’m walking

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As of a week or so ago, I’ve been using my pedometer for a year. Here is a screenshot from the software that keeps track of everything.

So, in the last year, I’ve taken at least 3,661,400 which gives me an average of just over 10,000 a day. I’ve walked 1,847.48 miles or 2955.97 km (I could almost be in Calgary by now).

How many of me?

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I know, I’m unique… there is only one of me. But does anyone else share my name? HowManyOfMe.com apparently has a database of all of the names in the United States (using Census data). You put in your first name and last name and it tells you if anyone else has your name. According to the site, there are 18,309 Graham’s in the US and 16,143 Wing’s but there is only 1 Graham Wing (I presume that is me, since I filled out the form, even though I don’t live in the US). There are however 57 Lisa Wing’s (1,074,156 have the name Lisa).

Buckhorn in Summer 2008

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One of the highlights of the summer is going up to Buckhorn. Some of the family are lucky enough to be there for the full two weeks. We were able to be there for parts of 6 or 7 days (essentially 4 days the first weekend, 2 days the last weekend). Every year I comment how beautiful it is and how I wish I could stay longer. The weather wasn’t as nice as years past, but there was still lots to do.

The first trip up, the boys “swam”, we walked, and we relaxed. We went to the Whetung Ojibwa Art and Crafts Gallery. We also had an adventure at the Lakefield Fair. The second trip up, we went into Peterborough, went mini-putting, and excavated pieces of the Canadian shield for Lisa’s parents (thanks for your help Dad and Jason). Whether it was the first or second trip, Christine insisted on staying up late and waking up early. I guess cottage life was just too exciting for her.

I took loads of pictures. As is usually the case, you can see some of the thumbnails below, and see the rest of the thumbnails and larger versions in the Buckhorn in Summer 2008 gallery.





It seems like it is tradition now that we have a party each year. Two years ago we had a shower for Alisa. Last year we had a shower for Lisa. This year we decided to have a party on Andrew’s birthday. Lisa parents (Andrew’s Grandma and Grandpa) came up for the afternoon and we had a party in the “party room”. You can see pictures specifically from the party in the 20080727 Andrew’s Family Birthday Party in Buckhorn gallery.

Note: There are now 4,100 images in 175 categories

Mom and Dad’s 40th Anniversary

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Brian Wing married Marsha Roberts on June 21, 1968. This year was their 40th Anniversary. Unfortunately, Mom was in the hospital during that time, so they didn’t have much of a chance to celebrate. Dad picked up some food from Kelsey’s and they ate together at the hospital.

While we were up at the cottage, we noticed a painting that the Buckhorn tourist association was selling as a fundraiser. It was a beautiful painting of a heron. I contacted the all of the siblings and spouses, and we all went together and bought it for them. On Sunday, August 17, 2008 we told Mom and Dad we were going to have a family dinner while Julia was visiting. When they showed up, we had some decorations (red for the “ruby” anniversary), and had a bit of a party. Mom and Dad had no idea and were happily surprised. After dinner, we gathered in the living room and we gave Mom and Dad a card. Once that was opened, I gave them the painting. They loved it! Dad teared up (he always says he is pulling a Poppa), and they both were very thankful.

I took a few pictures and put them in the 20080817 Mom and Dad’s 40th Anniversary dinner. You can see some (but not all) of the thumbnails below:



Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!