"What is Christmas With No Snow?"

Another Christmas has come and gone......new memories were made, a few pounds of body fat were added, new photos were added to my growing collection, and good times were had by all.

We began the day with a reading of the account of Jesus' birth, from the Gospel of Luke, and then we opened up our gifts. It is such fun to watch the grand kids as they tear into their gifts. I love to see the smiles and hear the joyful sound of their laughter.

For breakfast we feasted on French Breakfast Puffs, a family tradition, that is served ONLY at Thanksgiving and Christmas.......It would be a sacrilege to serve them at any other time. My mom used to serve these for holidays too, so the taste of them bring back many memories of my childhood.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with the grand kids' new toys and games.

Steph and her honey, Dave, made a delicious Christmas dinner, with the best Prime Rib I have ever eaten, and served it with all the trimmings.

The only thing that was missing was.......SNOW!! Yes, I really did miss the snow on Christmas Day. I always think of Jesus when I look at snow........it puts me in remembrance of what the Christmas season is all about.........Jesus coming to earth as a Little Baby, Who grew to be a Man, Who gave His life for us..........to wash us in His precious blood, so that we might be made, white as snow.

The Ancient City of Corinth and Mars Hill

After a restful day and night on board our cruise ship, we reached our next port of call, Athens (Piraeus) Greece. We were met at the docks by our tour bus and our tour guide, and then we were off to our first stop, the ruins of Corinth.

On the way to Corinth, we stopped at an ancient canal that was built to move ships from the harbor to a palace (I think it was a palace??) I don't remember the whole story, but I did take a photo! We stopped at a little roadside "touristy" stop and enjoyed a little shopping and a snack, and then hiked down to a walkway, that spanned the canal. I have included a picture of the sign for the women's restroom also, I thought it was too cute!

I loved Corinth!! There is still a little village there.........the homes were just like I had imagined.....stuccoed and with red tile roofs, and each home had its own little walled garden, and an orchard.

When we drove up to the site of the ancient city of Corinth, I was in awe of the great columns that I saw in the distance. I am still amazed at what has survived over thousands of years. After a short tour-guide speech, we were able to walk all around the site and even allowed to walk in and through areas that had been homes, and bath houses, and market stalls. We stopped to have a Bible study at the site of the Behma Seat, and then we walked around the museum.

The museum had some fascinating displays, and I really enjoyed it. My favorite item in the museum was a mirror, made from polished bronze, dating to the Apostle Paul's day. It put me in mind of the verses in Paul's first epistle to the Corinthian church, about seeing in a mirror dimly, but some day we will see face to face. By looking at it's polished, but not so clear surface, I can better understand what he meant! (See 1 Cor. 13) We weren't allowed to take pictures of any of the displays, so I don't have one to show you.

We left Corinth and headed to downtown, modern day, Athens, where we stopped to have lunch (authentic Greek foods, very yummy!), and then we hiked up to the site of Mars Hill, and the Acropolis.

Mars Hill was one of my favorite places. The stairs up to the top of the hill, are the same ones that have been used for thousands of years, and that means that I walked where the Apostle Paul had walked. I have included a picture of the marble cobblestone roads that are still in use, since the days of Paul.

The Acropolis was awe inspiring too. It is very well preserved and as you can see from the photos, restoration work is still going on. I loved all of the marble and stone carvings, so detailed and beautiful.

From the Acropolis you could see the ancient temple of Zeus and an ancient amphitheater.

After our tour in Athens, we were given a bus tour of the modern day city of Athens, and then we headed back to the ship.

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.......

30 and Counting.......

Thanksgiving 2009 In January, Mitch and I will have been together for 30 years and in March, we will celebrate 29 years of marriage.

Some of you know that I love my husband's scent. He has his own special smell and I especially love the smell of his breath! Okay, not in the morning, but I do love it!!

The other day as I was making the bed, I could smell his scent on his pillow, and it got me thinking of him and of our life together.

We have shared 30 Thanksgivings, 30 Christmases, 30 birthdays, and 30 anniversaries. We have watched our girls grow into women, and then we have watched them become wives and mothers themselves. We have moved to new homes more times than I can count, I think it was at 27 the last time we tried to. We have lived in 3 states, and we have been blessed by the many friendships that we have made together.

We have lived and loved, laughed and cried, and yes even fought our way through, all that God has brought to us. And I hope that through it all, we have brought glory to His name.

As Thanksgiving becomes a memory and as Christmas approaches, I want to give ALL the praise to Jesus for the life that He has given to me, but mostly I want to THANK Him for my husband. I pray that God will help me to always be a wife worthy of my honey's love.

I love you Honey and I am so very thankful for you. You are the best and I can't imagine my life without you in it. And if the Lord tarries, I look forward to 30 more years of making memories with you, and if I do say so myself, you are the BEST husband, father, and grandpa on the planet!

"Let me see your face,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your face is lovely."

Song of Solomon 2:14

Giving Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Thanksgiving was great this year and I am thanking Jesus for my family. Our daughter, Stephenie, and her honey Dave, hosted all of us for dinner this year.
We had a yummy roasted turkey, with all of the usual trimmings and desserts.

There was alot of laughter and talk by the adults, and happy noise from all of the little ones.

The best part of the evening (besides being with my family) was Steph and Dave's pastor playing his guitar and leading us in worship.

If I do say so myself, worship will always be the best part of any gathering! I have learned that a song in my heart makes any occasion more joyful, and praising Jesus for all of His many blessings helps me keep a right perspective about my life.

(Steph, I know that this isn't a great picture of you, but at least I put one of you in my post :) lol)

Food, Glorious Food

The second day of our Italian/Grecian vacation was spent at sea. After spending the day at Messina (Sciliy) Italy, we set sail for our next port of call, Athens (Pireus) Greece.

There isn't much to do, while stuck on a huge ship the size of a small city........we ate, we walked the decks, I did a little shopping in the on-board shops, and then we ate. It was a very windy day so spending time in the pool was out, so I lounged on a deck chair in the sun and read a good book (with some of the girls), and Mitch took a nap......oh, and we ate!

If I do say so myself, the food on board our ship was fantastic! We could eat anytime of the day or night. There was always coffee and hot beverages available with yummy sweets to go with your "cuppa"........My sweet tooth loved this most of all! And the dinners were to die for......steak and shrimp, salmon and chicken, prime rib and pork chops. The salads were awesome and the desserts, the best I have ever eaten......and the best part, you could have as much as you wanted!

Okay, enough about food, I am getting hungry just thinking about it........I better go for now, the Chocolate Covered Cherries that I bought yesterday are calling out to me.....

Our First Day in Italy

Our first night at sea was uneventful.....I was so "jet lagged" that all I wanted was my bed. Of course, both Mitch and I awoke pretty early in the morning. Mitch went for coffee, but I wanted to stay in bed for a bit longer. As I was lying there, I kept "feeling" like I should get up and look out the window......I finally listened and looked out and saw a volcano. There was steam rising from it's the top and at it's base, was a little village. I am so glad that I "listened" to the "voice" or I would have missed seeing it.

If I do say so myself, isn't living in a village at the base of a volcano kind of weird? I got to thinking, who in their right mind would do that? Aren't the people who live there scared or worried about an eruption, washing them into the sea in a river of hot lava? Ah well, to each his own!

Our first Port of Call was Messina (Sciliy) Italy. We left the ship and headed for a look at a few ancient churches. We stopped at one that had a huge carved copper door. Colored by time, it was an amazing shade of green (I think it is called, verdigris?). The church square had a beautiful clock tower, with a clock that had gold figures, that moved when the clock chimed the hour. We learned later on that we could have climbed to the top of the clock tower, Steve said the view was great from the top.

We hiked through the streets and up a huge hillside to another church. From the steps of this church, we had a view of the harbor, our ship, and of the rooftops of the city.
Our tour guide, from the day before, had told us of the traffic in Messina, and she wasn't kidding! I have never seen such traffic jams and heard such noise..honking from the trucks and cars, beeping from the scooters, and even the wail of a siren from a fire truck that just wanted to get through all the traffic!! As soon as it was past the traffic jam, the siren stopped..too funny.

We stopped for our first taste of gelato and enjoyed every lick of it....very creamy, and oh so yummy. The young woman that waited on us was so sweet and friendly, even though we couldn't understand her and she couldn't understand us. It is proof that a smile can make strangers become friends.

"Hats Off"

I thought that I better begin to share about our European Vacation, at this rate, it will take me years to tell....

We left the Tri-Cities early Friday morning and drove to Seattle, where we were to board a 747 bound for Heathrow Airport in London. The drive to Seattle was a blast, we drove with our good friends, Steve and Bobi, whom we hadn't had a chance to "hang with" for a long while. We laughed and joked about marriage and kids and life, it made the four-plus hour long drive seem like one.

The flight over "the pond" was uneventful......great service by the staff of flight attendants. As we boarded the plane, I instantly realized how nice the cabin crew was, very polite and helpful, as people settled in for the eight-and-a-half hour long journey. "The English sure know how to make people feel welcome on their flights," I thought to myself, until.....One of the flight attendants came up to Mitch, with a very serious face, and told him that there was a "problem." Mitch and I looked at each other, (I was a little worried, if I do say so myself) and then the flight attendant said, "You'll have to leave the aircraft sir, we don't allow Bronco fans on our flights." (Mitch had been wearing his Bronco cap at the time, in fact he didn't take it off the whole flight!) We all had a good laugh, thanks to our friend Robb Myers, who had set us up!

As you can see from the photos I have posted, the "Bronco" hat went with us wherever we went......I asked Mitch to NOT wear it for photos, but he said that if he took it off, the Broncos winning streak would end! Needless to say the Broncos DID keep on winning and they still are!!

Needless to say, Mitch is very excited about his Colorado teams, even the Rockies and the Avalanche are on winning streaks.......so.......hats off to our Colorado teams!

764 Photos-1,000 of Memories.....

The ancient city of Corinth

Our first dinner in Rome

We are back from our trip abroad (I have always wanted to be able to say that) and we had a wonderful time. We were busy from early to late seeing the sites and so I can't say that we had a relaxing and restful time, but it was great none the less.

We feasted our eyes on beautiful architecture and ruins of ancient cities. We feasted on wonderful food and the best gelatto I ever ate! We met new people who quickly became good friends, and we fell more in Love with the Word of God as we saw with our very own eyes the places written about in the book of Acts.

Stay tuned for more...............

Vacanza is Almost Here......

Our "once-in-a-lifetime" Italian-Grecian holiday is almost upon us, so I have been happily getting stuff ready. I don't have any suitcases packed yet, but the top of our dresser is covered with travel size toiletries, ear plugs, bandages, extra eye glasses, electrical converters, and a host of other items for travel.

I have even been reading an Italian phrase book and dictionary, along with a few travel books I checked out from the library.

While in Italia, I have read that we should order menu del giorno, when eating out. It is the least expensive and the freshest food available. I have learned that a coffee shop is called a bar, so I will be doing some bar hopping for sure! I can't wait to taste an Italian caffe latte (I hope that the Italians have soy latte or it will be a caffe nero for me)

I have read that the public toilette costs money to use, a few coins and then you go!

A couple of the tour books even tell you what to do in the off chance a bird does its business on your head. We are cautioned to not try and wipe it away, it will only smear the pigeon's poop into your hair. We are told to just let it dry and then brush it away!

I look forward to lots of fare spese and when I am done, I will be indulging in dolci and a caffe' at a pasticceria.

And, if I do say so myself, the best part will be the canzone of a Venetian gondolier and a bacio from my sweet honey under the stars, as we glide through the canals of Venezia.

Arrivederci for now.....

No Greater Joy

Mitch and I had the privilege of being at the baptisms of our oldest daughter Stephenie's girls, our grand daughters, Bethanne and Rachel. We almost didn't make it, I had a "senior moment" (lately it has been a series of moments) and got the days mixed up. I am so thankful that I just happened to call my daughter Laura when I did or we would have missed it all together!

The day was even more special in that my son-in-law Dave, was the one who baptised them. Both of my daughters married awesome Christian men and I thank the Lord daily for the godly influence that they are in the lives of my girls and of my grand babies. Todd and Dave are the answer to my prayers of long ago and God gave me abundantly above all that I could ask or think!

Before the girls were "dunked," they were each asked to share a little bit about their faith in Jesus. As I listened to each one share her reasons for wanting to be baptised, the Lord reminded me of a portion of scripture that He had "given" to me many years ago...........

Is. 59:21 "As for Me," says the LORD, this is my covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."

And to borrow a phrase from the Apostle Paul....... and if I do say so myself........there is no greater joy than to see your children walking in the faith.

Too..........

For those of you who take the time to visit my blog, you know that I am not very faithful to blog on a regular basis. I have the usual excuses.....too busy, too tired....too lazy is more like it!

Mitch (my very own husband mind you) finally visited my blog and his comment was, "You don't write very often do you?" Well, if I do say so myself.......No, I don't!

So here goes with a commitment to try and write something each and every day......I hope that I am not being too much of a fibber.......

Dreams Really Do Come True......

I have dreamed of visiting Europe for years.......and my dream is about to come true! In September, Mitch and I will be flying to Rome and then boarding a cruise ship for a seven day Apostle's tour of Greece and Turkey. We are then heading back to Italy and then we will spend 3 glorious days touring Florence, Venice, and Rome! I am so excited.......I can hardly stand it....and myself!

The idea of seeing the places that I have only dreamed about is so thriling......to see with my own eyes the cities that the Apostle Paul brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to. To be able to read the letters that he wrote, in the places that he wrote them.....too awesome for words.

Happy Birthday To You....

Today is my youngest daughters birthday..... And if I do say so myself......I am one blessed momma! I actually have two beautiful daughters and no mom could be prouder than I. To watch them serve Jesus, to see them love their husbands, and watch them raise their children in the Lord is a joy to behold.

I love you Laura and I am so thankful that God chose to put you in my life. Thank you for 32 years of laughter, joy, fun, fellowship, tears, love, hugs, and kisses. I pray that God will richly bless you and keep you in His tender care. Your momma loves you ever so much!

Summertime Blues

Well, If I do say so myself....I can't wait for summers heat to be over. This summer sure has been a hot one....and in case you didn't know, I don't handle the heat well....can you say "cranky?" I guess that I am a mountain girl down to the core! And at the risk of making enemies, I have to say that I am so looking forward to our first snowfall! In the meantime, does anyone know of a house for sale that has a pool?

Mitch and Charlie

Our new little grand sons are here! They made their debut early Father's Day morning and we are so happy to finally see their sweet little faces.

Mitchell Luke was the first to arrive and Charles David arrived 20 minutes later.

Now our family will have another set of brothers named Mitch and Charlie.....and my Mitch, couldn't be any prouder.

Welcome to our world boys....you have already stolen your Ninnie's heart!

Fight, Fight, Fight

On Fox News this morning I heard of a couple in England who had their embryo implanted into the wrong woman's body, and then when she found out about the "mistake," she aborted the baby....how awful and how very sad. To think that a woman who has struggled with infertility for any length of time would do such a thing is beyond me. It was the mistake of the infertility clinic that started the whole fiasco, but that child was not a mistake. I hate what sin has done to our world...and I am so thankful to know the One who will set everything to rights again.

"I would say to my soul, O soul, this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair in. As long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible....as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair." John Bunyan

The Emerald City

In May, Mitch and I took a much needed break and headed to Seattle. We were able to book a room at the Westin Towers in downtown Seattle. We had a perfect view from our room of the Space Needle, the harbor and of the downtown skyline, it was so pretty at night when all of the lights came on. We spent three days visiting all of the touristy places: the Space Needle, the Underground Tour, we took a ride on the monorail, took a ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island, and walked around Pikes Market and the wharf. We even got to see a Mariners game, thanks to some great friends. The Mariners beat the Angels that night and so it was a great game. Our last day was spent touring a wonderful museum at the Boeing plant. If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle, head to the Museum of Flight, it is well worth your time. Mitch had a great time "flying" an actual flight simulator, but thanks to me, he wasn't able to turn completely upside down! I like being right side up, thank you very much.

Welcome to My Blog

Well, I finally took the plunge and started a blog, it was time to join my daughters on the web. My girls have awesome blogs and I enjoy them tremendously, what a great way to keep in touch with what is going on in their lives on a daily basis.
See you again real soon......