Collage of Sara :-)

Pictures of Sara

Hopefully more later!

Announcing The Arrival Of......

Sara Edith Holter
March 18th, 2009
3:55 am
8lbs 2oz
20 inches
I can't tell you how cute she is! :-) So tiny and perfect...
The labor went fairly smoothly... thank you all so much for the prayers! Mom is doing well, although understandably tired. She is ever cheerful and enjoying her new daughter. :-) Dad says he's given up on ever evening up the boy/girl ratio in the Holter family, but he doesn't seem to mind having 8 daughters in spite of that fact. ;-)
And of course... the rest of us are enjoying having a new baby in the house. We had been half expecting a boy (Malachi Kenneth) and had obviously been speaking of him a lot because this morning (4:30 am) while Ruth was holding Sara, she asked, “Where is Dad hiding that boy?” and decided that she would “see him in the morning.” LOL! She was just convinced that there was a boy...
We had been tossing around a couple girl names but neither of them worked when we saw Sara. ;-) So we had quite a bit of conversation all morning. The one we all agreed was :ok: was Keturah Edith. But when Mom woke up, she said she didn't care for it. So we discussed names for another hour before finally deciding on the name Sara Edith for these reasons:
It was the full name of our great-great Grandmother Vandermolen...
Mom's mother's name is Patricia Edith...
our dearly loved adopted grandmother was named Edith...
We know several Sarah/Sara's and they are all sweet...
And besides all that, Sara simply fits her name. :-)
Over the course of the morning we discussed many names. All of us added our two cents (some consisted of murder threats if the name Jael was used... haha) and I thought you all might enjoy...
Uriah's name suggestions:
Idaho Ray
Germiniah
The Lone Ranger
Jackariah
:-) :-) :-)

we made it!

The Population of Waldron Doubles
In the late afternoon of Saturday, March 15th, 2009, a commotion awoke the sleepy community of Waldron, Saskatchewan. Several smaller vehicles, a large moving truck and lots of people had suddenly burst upon a rather peaceful scene. A flurry of excitement ensued into the empty home of their friends who were (alas!) living in Alberta.
As if that wasn't enough, a Uhaul (the largest size) rumbled in a few hours later with two more people. At that point, it was decided that such disturbance to normal life was hard on the heart, but it keeps a person young.
Thus the community of Waldron, Saskatchewan went from being (approximately) 12 persons to 24.
The happy Holters have descended... er.. arrived. ;-)

Greetings from a snowy Saskatchewan! I'm sitting in a bedroom (which may become mine and Ellie's... that is still to be decided) on a bed, typing this blog entry on my computer. There is absolutely no internet access in Waldron but Mom mentioned running to Yorkton today... so I wanted to be ready, just in case. ;-)

Our move went well. It was very eventful and considering everything that could have gone wrong, I think I can honestly say it went smoothly. :-) One thing for sure, God had His hand on us!

We had four vehicles: dodge truck with stock trailer (Dad, Lydia and Martha); 15 passenger van and utility trailer (Mom, Ellie, Hannah, Priscilla, Zeke, Uriah and Ruth), Ryder moving truck (Mark [friend] and Jesse); Uhaul moving truck (Emma [friend] and yours truly).

Getting through the border took all of 15 minutes. We've moved three times across the border and never before has it ever gone so quickly or smoothly! I can still see Dad's surprise when the border guard said, “You're good to go!” It was a huge blessing.

We actually weren't too far into the trip when Emma discovered that our brakes weren't working well. And the further we went, the worse they became. We had a few close calls in the later afternoon and she began to pull further and further behind the others so she would have room to stop. We got to Sorgards safely but not before we had both squealed a couple times. :-P Alberta drivers are rather known for their fast and devil-may-care vehicle handling (not saying all Albertains are that way, but... ;-)). That fact has never bothered me before but it really does make a difference to have good brakes when someone pulls out in front of you or stops suddenly to turn off...

But to hurry along with my account... We had a nice evening/night at Sorgards and were preparing to leave the next morning when Dad decided to check out the brakes in the Uhaul. It was a good thing he did. A line burst and we had no brakes at all. After several phonecalls, a tow-truck arrived and carried away the Uhaul to see what could be done. After it had departed, much discussion ensued and it was decided that everyone but Emma and myself would go on ahead. We would follow after with the repaired Uhaul.

It really was the best thing that could have happened. Both of us needed the rest... and Lindsey and I were overjoyed because we were able to get a good talk in. :-) We also watched part of Pride and Prejudice. We both found that it's great fun watching girly movies together! :-D

The next morning, the mechanic who was working on our Uhaul called and announced that it was ready. He had originally said that we would be on the road by noon, but he had decided to come early and work on it... so we ended up leaving at 9 am! We were very happy about that. ;-) Emma had never been to Saskatchewan and I had never navigated anyone anywhere so it was a new experience for both of us. It's a good thing we like each other... LOL!

All seemed well until about the fourth time Emma stepped on the brakes. The familiar hissing noise began and the truck with all it's weight didn't stop until she had pumped on that brake. :-P We looked at each other and decided to go on. Who wanted to be stranded until Monday? And who wanted to Dad and Mom driving back (Mom being 5 days overdue) to pick us up? Not we. :-P So... on we went...

The roads in SK aren't the best and we found out our axles appreciated them as much as we did. Let's just say we did a lot of praying! But in spite of all the problems, we made it to Melville in 8.5 hours!

We were just going to go straight to the place we were going to be renting but our gas went into the red and we weren't sure we could make the 5 miles on fumes. ;-) So we pulled into Extra Foods Gas Bar and I spotted a 15 passenger van with Idaho plates.

I've never had more fun than I did when I walked up behind my Mom and sisters... “Hey guys!” The look on Mom's face was priceless. :-D “How'd you get here so fast?! How did you find us?” It turned out that when Dad had phoned Sorgards to see when we had left, he hadn't been able find out. So he guess since we had left “early” we had left around 11 am. :-) So, it was a big surprise for us to arrive in the early evening.

It also worked out very well to find Mom and the girls at the store because the house we were intending to rent didn't work out. It would have been fine in almost every aspect but it was moldy. To have a new baby in that atmosphere would not be good... and it also would have been hard on my health. So they scrambled to find something else before Emma and I arrived. That something ended up being 20 minutes from Melville in a small town called Waldron.
The house here is small, but we have room for everyone! We will need to buy a stove to cook on, but we have (hot and cold) running water, a wood stove (for heating and some cooking), a washroom, a living room that will seat everyone comfortably... and many other conveniences.
Mom hasn't delivered yet. She seems to be quite calm, cheerful and staying busy. As of today, she is 6 days overdue. The baby seems to be doing well and is content, except when she sits still (which isn't very often).

Water is dripping off the eaves this morning! That means it's around 30* F. or so... of course, it is still March so I'm not counting on Spring until another month or so. :-) But it is nice that it's not -40* F!

We plan on getting a phone # and P.O. box tomorrow... Our email is still the same so if you would like to contact us, that would be the way for now. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to get into town to catch a internet connection but hopefully it will be more often than once every two weeks. We shall see.

Regardless... as often as we can, I or one of my sisters will keep you updated. :-) Thank you all so much for all the prayers! We felt them. :-)

March 16th, 2009
I wrote this yesterday... nothing too new happening here, except for the fact that Mom says the baby should arrive tonight or tomorrow. Your prayers for a safe delivery will be greatly appreciated. :-) We're now in Yorkton, returning the Uhaul and trying to find a stove to buy... Mom brought along her emergency birth kit just in case.
Any guesses as to the gender? ;-)

kids... :-)

Naomi, Uriah, Ruth and Cilla... Love the stickers on Cilla's face and Uriah's forehead. :-)

Ruth is so sweet!

Uriah beating up Zeke... LOL!

Pictures of the moving mess in the house...

Ellie sitting on the couch in the living room.

looking down toward the living room from the kitchen.

Naomi in the middle of her room... half packed boxes at her feet.

Middle of the downstairs....

The downstairs halway... packed with tubs and boxes.

Plans plans and more plans...

Well.... Dad wants to leave Thursday the 12th.... that means today the 9th we take apart all the beds, clean out the stock trailer and hopefully start loading it. Tomorrow the 10th we'll finish loading the stock trailer and move a lot of the other boxes and perhaps matresses up to the garage for easy loading into the U-haul on Wed. the 11th. That day we load all day and have everything ready for leaving Thursday morning... :-) Thursday Lord willing we'll be driving 5-7 hours (depending on road conditions) and hopefully arriving at the Sorgard family house that evening... leaving early Friday morning and arriving near Melville at our rental in Hudy's back yard..... :-D Plans.... Lord willing our trio will be blessed and we will all arrive in one piece! If you could pray for Ellie, Lydia and Dad.... they all have colds.... Ellie's the worst off, the cold went straight to her chest like usual and she's pretty miserable right now... please pray that she will heal soon.
Mom is now one day over due... "grins" if you could please pray that she will be able to carry the baby till after we move.... :-) then she can relax and not be stressed out about having the baby! Thanks. :-D

Hannah

Pictures

The moon one night on our horse trip... The Heavens Declare the glory of God!


And a picture of Hannah....

Ellie and Lydia.... love this picture of them.... :-D

Riding in the snow.

Hope you enjoy these. :-)

Hannah

More pictures of the Holters... :-D

The view from our front porch.... those beautiful mountains.


Working on the mail out from church... we had to stamp some 1600 cards or so.... :-)

Ruth's "wedding" dress.... "grins" she really loves it.

Back to Saskatchewan!!!!!

Yep that's where Dad finally found a rental.... right back in the Melville area where we moved from just a year ago! God seems to be moving us around a great deal.... But if that's where He wants us then who is to complain?

We're planing on inviting lots of people once we get settled in a home of our own.... so if you want to be included in that 'list' of invites... you drop us a note at kirkholter "at" gmail.com or Naomi ... naomi.holter "at" gmail.com or even me the author of this astounding post.. :-D ehssgvbmusic "at" gmail.com

Even if you don't want to come visit us we would be happy to hear from you... (and we'll try to persuade you to come up... ) "grins"

So you all take care and God bless you as you walk with HIM!

Hannah

My sweet smiling face... Jan. 2009

The Bed frame that Dad made for his and Mom's bed.... It's very well done!