If I Do Say So Myself

True Love

2012-02-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-01-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I had not written anything about Thanksgiving........So, here we go!
In September of 2011, our church purchased a dude ranch in Oregon....yes, a dude ranch! The Bar M Ranch has been in existence since the 1800s! It has changed hands over the years, and you can find out the history of it on-line, and now it will be a retreat center for our church. We have been hard at work fixing up the place, and it has been a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work. I love the history of the original house, it was a stage coach stop for many years, and it is the oldest occupied building in Oregon state! By the way, our daughter Laura took these photos, since my camera is acting up....I guess that's what happens when you drop them in the ocean!

This is where we and our family spent Thanksgiving. We rented the Ranch house for 4 days, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We ate, and played games, swam in the hot-springs pool; some of us did anyway, it was COLD. We made "some-mores" in the fireplace, and had many tourney's of ping-pong. We went for walks along the river, and looked at the stars. All of our grands loved it....the little ones played and watched movies, the older ones played games, and watched movies, the adults cooked and ate, and watched movies, and cleaned up after the kids :)

A Caananite City

2012-01-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some more photos of our trip to Israel. This site was the coolest....it is the actual city gate and a portion of the wall of a Canaanite City.....from before Abraham's time!! As you can see, archeologist have to keep the area covered from the sunlight, they found that the wall would disintegrate as soon as they uncovered it.
I love seeing proofs that the Bible is true, and proof of the people who went before us!

!Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

New-Having recently come into existence, and being other than the former or old. (From Webster's dictionary)

Don't you just love the word new! It is a word that means.....grace........to me. It is a word that invokes a sense of wonder and excitement. It is a word that can bring feelings of trepidation, and even a bit of fear. It is a word full of the promises of God.
This morning in my quiet time Psalm 25 came to mind:

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

It is a new year, and I am looking forward to what the Lord has for me; for I know that it is an opportunity for me to walk closer with my God. When we walk with someone it means just that....that we are with them. Not running ahead, or lagging behind, but beside them. So, as I walk into the new year, I have a sense of anticipation of what is to come, as I walk with the God of my salvation. For it is here in this close communion that I will learn of God's truth, and it is here that I will know of His love for me.

Love Never Fails

2011-12-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

My plan for today is to get cards and a letter in the mail........I didn't have the time to do so before Christmas, and so......we will be sending out "Happy New Year!" greetings. As I was getting ready to type up the letter, and thinking over the past year, I was reminded once again of God's loving care of me, and of mine. God is such a loving and giving Father........not like anyone on earth......ever!
Is it as hard for you, as it is for me, to not "see" God as we do people? I have a tendency to think, and act like God is going to quit taking care of me, that He is going to get sick of me and my sin, that this will be the "last straw," and that He will be done with me. So often I attribute to God, what humans can do to me.........they give up when they have had enough, and I can't count on them to always be forgiving and loving and gracious,and some do not remain faithful. Of course, not all people are this way. And, if I am honest with myself, I will see that there are times when even I have been less than loving and faithful.
So often I think that God's love for me, is just a better kind of human love. But that isn't the case at all! God's love for me is a never ending, always reaching out, always wanting the best for me kind of love. He loves me totally and completely, never expecting anything in return.
So, as I get ready for the New Year, there is a sweet anticipation of what is to come.........A fresher awareness of the Father's love for me. There will be, I am sure of it, times of doubt ahead, times of sorrow, and of pain.......and there will be many times-more times than I would like, that I will need forgiveness and healing........but......Jesus is the same today, and tomorrow, and for always.........this I can count on.........for His love never fails!

Merry Christmas To All and To All.....A Goodnight!

2011-12-24T12:18:00.001-08:00

Bells Across The Snow

O Christmas, merry Christmas
Has it really come again,
With it's memories and greetings,
With it's joy and with it's pain!
Minor chords are in the carol
And a shadow in the light,
And a spray of cypress twining
With the holly wreath tonight.
And the hush is never broken
By laughter light and low,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
It's not so very long
Since voices blended
With the carol and the song!
If we could hear them singing,
As they are singing now,
If we could but see radiance,
Of the crown on each dear brow,
There would be no cry to cover,
No hidden tear to flow,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
This nevermore can be;
We cannot bring again the days
Of our unshadowed glee,
But Christmas, happy Christmas
Sweet herald of goodwill,
With holy songs of glory
Brings holy gladness still.
For peace and hope may brighten,
And patient love may glow,
As we listen in the starlight,
To the "bells across the snow."
By: Francis Ridley Havergal

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this Christmas season, but most of all we hope that you know the love of the One who gave His life for you! You are the reason He came to earth, you are the apple of His eye, you are very precious to Jesus, and you are sweetly loved.

A New Adventure

2011-12-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

"Write for yourself.......all the words that I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2
This passage of scripture was "given" to me, by the Lord, over 10 years ago. It is embarrassing to admit this........I am just now obeying Him.
"It is time," the Lord told me in September, and so I begin to write.
May I say that I feel like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, because I am out of my natural element! I am not a writer, and to be quite frank with you, I don't really speak well either. Conversing with others is not my strong suit. Speaking to a group of women is not what I EVER wanted to do, I feel much better being behind the scenes. And yet, God has given me the spiritual gift of.........talking!" It is what I do for a living, and it is what I do for ministry. And now, He wants me to write.
So, I have begun a new adventure with my Lord.
I am still not quite sure if God wants me to write for myself only, or to write something for others to read; and so, I am praying.......and I have begun to write. I have numerous pages of random thoughts saved on my computer, but as I write, the one thing I know for certain is that God wants me to share my story with others. And so I prayed about starting another blog, and I am sensing that this is what God wants me to do......for now anyway. The blog is titled, "The Handmaid of the Lord." It is the story of my journey, thus far.
I am amazed at how the Lord uses me, and I am amazed at what He asks me to do. I pray that my story will be an encouragement to others, but most of all I want God to receive ALL of the glory and praise.

2011-12-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Ok on to the next stop on our grand Israel tour......We visited a place that I was excited to see....the site where King Solomon had his stables. The place where his many horses lived, and where his chariots were stored.
For you Bible scholars, you will remember that Israel's ancient kings were not to have a store of horses and chariots. They could have some, but not many. In those days, horses and chariots were a sign of great wealth, and of military power, and strength. God commanding them to not have horses and chariots was for a sign to them; and that was that God alone would be the one to protect his people, and that He would be their strength in times of trouble, and in times of battle be the One who brought victory, not the king or his army! It was to be a sign to the king of trust and of faith in God alone.
I know, being excited to see a place of disobedience sounds a bit off, but I loved the reminder of the fact that God means what He says! God wants pure and loving obedience from His kids; but also, that He has grace on mercy on us when we don't obey!
King Solomon was the wisest and richest king who ever lived, no one has ever come close to being like he was. It just goes to show that riches, and intelligence does not make one good,or sin free. At the end of his life, King Solomon trusted in his wealth and in his military strength, not in the Lord.
It is a reminder to me to always be checking where my faith is placed; in self or in others? Or in the Lord God Almighty? For only a changed heart can make for changed actions!

New Life Among the Ruins

2011-12-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Our tour to Israel earlier this year, included a most wonderful place, a place that I had not visited before. We went to see the ruins of an ancient city built on the site of Shiloh. You know, the place where the tabernacle was located, with the hills all around it. These hills are the place where the children of Israel lived their lives, and the Bible tells us that each person could see the tabernacle from his or her dwelling. The Lord told them to place the tabernacle in the midst of the camp, and He told them that He would dwell in the Holy of Holies, that was inside the tabernacle. You can stand there and still see all of the hills surrounding the area, and imagine yourself in a tent up on the hill, looking down into the valley and seeing the tabernacle, and being reminded that the LORD was with you.
The photo that I have posted here I have titled, "New Life Among the Ruins." It is an appropriate title, not only for this area, but an appropriate metaphor of my life! In the OT, the tabernacle was a "mobile" temple, and the children of Israel, during their wanderings, would "pack it up" and move it to each new place they went. When their wanderings were over, and they were in the Promised Land, Shiloh became the religious capital 300 hundred years before the temple in Jerusalem was built. I LOVED being there! We had a Bible study out of Joshua and it was very inspiring to me.
The NT likens Christians to the tabernacle, and so we are "a mobile temple" so to speak, because the Spirit of God lives in each Christian, and we take Him to the world as we go about our daily lives. And just like the red poppies that bloom all over the hills of Israel in the spring, I too am a "new life among the ruins"..........of my old life, and of the lives of those I come into contact with on a daily basis, those who do not know Jesus, and are living a life that is so far from what God desires for them. May I always remember that I take Jesus with me wherever I go, and may He use me to show others, that there is available to them a "New Life Among the Ruins."

Expressing My Gratitude

2011-11-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

This is the day before Thanksgiving, and quite frankly my day is not going well. I have had many days like this, and I am sure that there will be many more to follow, but today I choose to remember that I have so much to be thankful for; a wonderful husband, a great family whom I adore, a job that is everything I could ever want, and a church family that is the best the world over! And, I am most thankful for the love of my Savior, Jesus. Jesus has been and always will be, a great Friend to me; He hears my spoken pleas for help, He listens to my heart's cry for mercy, He loves me with a perfect love, and He never, ever, ever gives up on me.

"The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever." Psalm 145:18-21

Masada

2011-10-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

One of the many store rooms uncovered by Archaeologists, they found grain here, and actually got it to sprout and grow!
These are the original steps leading to the many buildings and rooms of the palace.
This is one of the many indoor pools of the palace.
One of the Roman encampments, as seen from the top of Masada

Our next stop was Masada........This is one of my favorite places to go in Israel. It is here that the Jewish people fled to escape King Herod, but what is interesting to note is that Masada was Herod's winter palace! The Romans came and encamped around Masada and laid siege to it. They began by making 4 camps around the base of the mountain, and then the soldiers began to build a ramp to the top. As the story goes, the Jewish people would throw huge stones down onto the heads of those building the ramp and so, the Romans began using Jewish slaves instead of soldiers. The Romans knew that the Jewish people would not harm their own. At the end of a few years, on the night before the Romans were going to march up the ramp and take Masada, the Jewish people at the top, committed suicide. Historians say that the Jewish people felt that death was far better than becoming Roman slaves.
This puts me in mind of myself.........would I rather choose to die to myself and to this world, or would I much rather become a slave of it? Sometimes the daily dying to self is the pits.......it would be so much easier to give in, and yet I know that when I choose to die, I will truly LIVE!

More of Israel

2011-10-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

I am finally going to try and finish up sharing about our trip to Israel! I guess a few months late.......ok, well a half a year later, isn't too bad.....it could have been worse!
We were able to take a drive up to the Golan Heights and see an army outpost at the top. There are still bunkers there, and we were able to tour them. I would never have been able to live in one of those bunkers......can I just say how thankful I am that I have never had to live in one!
We visited Tel Dan too......all you Bible scholars will remember that this is the place that the children of Israel set up idol worship, instead of going to the temple in Jerusalem like the Lord told them to. Today, there is a replica of an alter there amidst the ruins, and I got talked into climbing up on it, you can see in the photo what ensued after I did!
We made it to the area of the springs where Gideon formed his army. This is the place where the Lord told him to cut back his army to 300 men! The way that the Lord did this is quite strange......and so as you can see from the photos, Mitch and I would have fit right in with the 300.

"Kibbutz-ing It"

2011-06-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

The rest of our first day in Israel consisted of a drive by Cana and Nazareth; and then on to Tiberius where we began our three night stay at Kibbutz Kinar, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. For those of you who do not know, a Kibbutz is a "communal settlement" (which by the way is the definition of the word Kibbutz), basically they are rural communities. They are societies dedicated to mutual aid, a social economic system where each person living there shares in the ownership of the property, shares in its maintenance, and its business, and the education of its children. It is the fulfillment of the idea, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"; a home for those who have chosen it. The first one was started in 1909, and there are now some 270 Kibbutzim all over Israel.

Some Kibbutzim are dedicated to farming, others to dairies, others to tourism, like the one we stayed at.

On the site of Kibbutz Kinar (and our first stop the next morning) there is a museum that houses a boat that was found at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee! It is from the time of Jesus and the disciples.......it was an awesome sight to see! We listened to a documentary on how it was discovered, how it was "raised" and how it was moved to its present location and placed on display. And yes, it is a REAL one, not a model or replica. The archaeologists also found an oil lamp, some coins (minas), and other artifacts in and around the boat. The photograph that I have is not do it justice......we weren't allowed to use flash photography, and it was darkened in the room to protect the boat from the sunlight.

In the past, when I have read the account of the storm that caused the disciples to be afraid for their lives, I didn't understand their fear. Now I know that the boats were not large vessels and were made of wood.....I guess that I would be afraid too! Next time that I read about the disciples fishing and traveling with Jesus, by boat across the Sea of Galilee, and of a storm that occurred one late night...... I will remember that I was blessed to see one.

Mt. Carmel......Not Caramel

2011-05-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

The next stop in Israel was to the top of Mt. Carmel (not caramel).......this is where the prophet Elijah "fought" the prophets of Baal......and of course.....won! As an aside, may I say that I get a bit bent out of shape when people say carmel and not caramel when referring to that yummy gooey brown goodness.......I'm not bitter about it, but really.......Mitch gave us a Bible study as we looked out over the Meggido Valley. This valley is going to be the site of a huge future battle between humans and Jesus........ I wonder Who will win?
PS In case you were wondering, I am NOT pregnant! The wind kept blowing up my shirt :)

By The Sea

2011-04-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't fall off the face of the world.....just busy. I know I promised pictures of our trip to Israel........so here are a few of our first day.

Our first stop was......Caesarea by the Sea, where one of the King Herods (yes, there were a few!) had his summer palace. Mitch and I had visited here in 1985, but at that time, we didn't see much of what is there today. The archaeologists have been working hard over the last 20 years, and have uncovered a bit more of the area. The top photos shows the hippodrome (where horse races were held) and the photo of the rectangular shaped stones is none other than the public toilets!! A person would sit with each cheek on a stone, and go.........It was fun to see that the stones were not all the same distance apart, because after all, not every ones' bottom is the same size!! The photo of the square ruins by the water is the palaces swimming pool! We could still see some the mosaics on what used to be the bottom of the pool!!

Our tour guide, Avi, gave us an interesting piece of information......When the Romans were conquering the world, they would build all of their cities the same.....In each city, the layout for all of the public buildings was the same and facing the same compass directions. This way when a Roman citizen traveled they would always feel at home.

Shalom

2011-03-07T13:43:00.001-08:00

Mitch and I are off on another adventure........We are heading to Israel for a few weeks!!

Mitch has been planning to go for a year now, our pastor wanted him to help lead the tour, but I had planned to stay home. One of the ladies that had paid had to cancel on Sunday......please pray for her and her family. Denise's niece is very ill and most likely will not be alive for much longer. Her niece and her family don't know the Lord and so she felt that she needed to go and be with them.

When we found all of this out on Sunday, we began to pray if I should go....we would have to pay some money to get the airline tickets transferred, but all in all it was already paid for and Denise didn't want us to worry about the money. Well we weren't going for that and so we prayed about what to offer to her, and the Lord gave Mitch and I the same dollar amount.......here is the cool part.......A lady from church called on Sunday night and offered to give us the exact amount!....and we hadn't said a word about it!! She and her husband had both felt God leading them to do this. All I can say is my God is AWESOME! I am so thankful for how it all worked out for both Mitch and I, and for Denise too.

Mitch headed out this morning for a part of the tour that Denise wasn't signed up for, so I won't see him until Saturday......in Jerusalem. There are 20 people from church that will be flying with me so I won't be all alone.

Mitch and I had the opportunity to see Israel in 1985, just a year after we gave our hearts to Jesus. I have never forgotten that trip, and I certainly never thought that I would be going back. I still can see in my mind the places that we visited, places that I read about in my Bible. My favorite place was the Sea of Galilee and the shepherd's field outside of Bethlehem......I could almost hear the angels announcing the birth of Jesus. There are a few places that we will tour this time that we didn't get to see in 1985. The two hills and valley where David and the army of Israel defeated Goliath and the Philistines, The City of Petra, and the resort of Eliat.

So I will say Shalom for now.......Check back here at the end of the month and view my photos.

And don't forget to........Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.......if you do God says that you will be blessed!

A Number From Numbers

2011-03-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

I am singing this song to all of you today.........

The LORD bless you and keep you,

The LORD make His face to shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

"Monday Monday So Good To Me....."

2011-02-28T18:21:00.001-08:00

My work week starts on Tuesday, so Monday is a treat for me. After a busy previous week and most often a busy weekend, it is the one day of the week that I don't have to do anything!! At least every other one. I teach Bible study on every other Tuesday, and the Monday before my turn I usually finish up my outline. Most often though, I get to hang out and do what I want to do........I'll sleep in and then enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while watching the news. Later on in the day I sometimes go to the library or I will do a little shopping at TG Maxx. I usually fill up the bird feeder with seeds and nuts for a week's worth of dining pleasure for my feathered friends. I practice my guitar and learn new songs to sing, or I do a little baking, or look I at a magazine and dream of projects to do. And sometimes, I even get to take a little nap in my recliner while I catch up on my recorded HGTV and DIY shows. As I am typing this I am realizing something that you the reader probably already have........I sound like an old woman!!

"Great Grace"

2011-02-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

This post is for all of our loved ones who are struggling with cancer. I have to tell you that I hate that word.......That one word can strike fear into the stoutest of hearts, and it can bring all to their knees. Truly, being on our knees is the place to be in the best of times, but when this horrible word is spoken to a loved one, or to ourselves, being on our knees is the ONLY place to be.

Mitch's sister, Deb, has had a recent diagnosis of cancer, my best friend Jenny's sister Sarah has cancer too. There are 6 people at our church that I know of who are struggling with cancer, and I am sure that all of you know of more. There have been loved ones who have died from this disease, and loved ones who have made it to being cancer-free, I thank Jesus for His love and grace that covered all!!

Let us join together in prayer for our loved ones as they battle this disease. Let us be the voice of encouragement and grace as they fight the affects of treatment.

I felt that today's reading in, Streams in the Desert, was a great encouragement for all of us.........especially the ones who are ill with this horrible disease.

His grace is great enough to meet great things-

The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,

The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,

The sudden storms beyond our lives's control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things-

The little pinprick troubles that annoy,

The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,

The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.

Annie Johnson Flint is the author of this poem, and she knows hardship; she was blind her whole life long, and yet the Lord used her to write the most beautiful worship songs and poetry.

The Best Laid Plans.......

2011-02-24T17:46:00.001-08:00

I saw some sweet Primroses at the hardware store last week....Don't you just love Primroses? I especially like the blue and yellow ones. Whenever I see them I am reminded that Spring is not far away.

I had planned to buy some today and plant them in some pretty pots for my front porch.......but, you know what they say about the best laid plans of Mice and Men....by the way, does anybody know what that phrase means, or what is the story behind it? Anyway, the weather decided to not play along with my plans.....Baby, its cold outside! The temperature dipped down to the low 30's and the prediction for tonight in the teens! Last week it was 60 for heaven's sake! So I decided to wait awhile before doing any outside planting.

This afternoon, Mitch and I had to stop at the hardware store to pick up some nails for the Porch Project, and there they were, those pretty little Primroses, all lined up on a cart, braving the cold windy blast.......looking like Spring.

Today

2011-02-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

For I have put my trust in You.

Teach me the way that I should go,

For to You I lift up my soul.

These words, from a song that I love, came to my mind this morning and have stayed on my heart all of today.

Since this morning I have prayed that I would be aware that His mercies are new today....no left-overs from yesterday. I hope that my heart will always remember that the guidance I needed today was given, and will be given again and again, with each new 'today'....All I have to do is ask....And so, at the end of this today I have found Him faithful and true.....for today He brought me word of His unfailing love.

Porch Project Update

2011-02-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

Up-date/noun

1. An act or instance of updating

2. Current information for updating something

3. An up-to-date version, account, or report

We are getting closer to the finish line. In case you are wondering there are cedar planks on the ceiling......doesn't it look beautiful?

Fine Feather-y Friends

2011-02-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

I love birds....I love everything about them.....their fluffy feathers and beautiful colors, the fact that they can fly without an airplane :), their ability to withstand the elements, and that they build nests in the most unexpected of places. I remember one particular set of Robins who built their nest at the very end of a branch in an Elm tree in the backyard of our place in Colorado. The nest was built so far out on a limb :) that I considered those Robins rook-y nest builders, they didn't seem to know what they were doing; for when the winds blew, the branch of the tree would sway from side to side and the little baby Robin that was sitting cozily in the nest would wind up being dumped onto the ground. Mitch was my resident "pick-up-the-little-Robin-and-place-it-back-into-it's-nest-guy." I still have a sweet and funny memory of Mitch standing on the very top of our small step ladder, trying to place the little Robin back into it's nest while the mommy and daddy Robin flew and dove about his head....and my cat, Cleo, was howling from the screened porch where I had locked her up! Needless to say Mitch would get the little bugger back into the nest, and all would be well........until the wind blew again!

When we moved from Colorado, I knew that I would miss watching a pair of Mourning Doves that would build their nest in the Fir tree out front. I used to watch the daddy Dove fly from the tree to the ground and return again with a twig or moss in it's beak. He would then walk into the interior of the Fir tree and leave the bit of nest-building material in it, and pop back out a few minutes later to fly away to search for more. Did you know that Doves mate for life, and that they will return each year to the same place to build their nest and to lay their eggs? Knowing this made my heart sad as I said Good-Bye to my little house in Colorado. I sometimes wonder if the pair of Doves is still coming back to that Fir tree.

I have a bird feeder in the lone Maple tree in my front yard. I love to hear the birds singing in the morning and in the late afternoon as they come for their meal of seeds and nuts. Well, at least some seeds......I stopped buying the mix with sunflower seeds in it, after I discovered that the birds would grab a seed and take it to eat it on my front porch! Even though I love birds, I don't particularly love what comes out of their back ends!! So.......no more Take-Out for these birds!

I think that my favorite thing about birds is their call, their sweet song. There are a variety of Common Finches that visit my feeder and an occasional Chickadee, and their calls are sweet to hear. One morning, a month or so ago, as I was sitting having my coffee, I heard the sound of a Mourning Dove. I was so excited to find that I had attracted some to my feeder, since I had been missing my Colorado pair of Doves! I was hoping that as our trees grew that this pair would keep coming back, and would one day build their nest in our tree, but it looked like that wasn't to be, since I hadn't seen them for a bit.....but, the other day, I heard their call, and there they were, sitting on the back fence. Maybe they will stay for a while this time, build a nest and settle down, maybe they will feel as much at home here as I do.

Latin: rhinitis acuta catarrhalis

2011-02-19T21:39:00.000-08:00

I have always been proud of my health, so I guess the Lord wanted to knock me down a few notches......I have a cold....again....for the 3rd time this winter! It is funny that the more I try to remember to take my vitamins, eat right, and get my daily recommended dose of 8 hours of sleep, I still got another cold.....ah well.......I'm off to brew some more hot tea with lemon and wishing I had some chicken soup to go with it. Here is to hoping that the rhino-virus will take its big ol' self on outta here.

"The Simple Answer"

2011-02-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

The last time we were in Spokane I snapped this photo of the sunset......You can tell by the picture that the sky looks like it is on fire......Because of the wind, the clouds were in motion and with the sunlight behind them, they looked just like flames in a fireplace, leaping and dancing.......It was simply beautiful.

I am reminded of the words from the Bible that tell me that my God is a Consuming Fire. So often I let other things consume me.....I let the cares and concerns of my everyday life hold me captive......I let my feelings have their way more often than I care to admit and yet.......To be consumed in everlasting love and to be held in the Everlasting Arms, to dance for joy before my King.....Could there be anything better than that? Is there anything that can replace my God's all Consuming Love for me? The answer is simple..........NO.

The Handwriting on the White Board....

2011-02-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

My grand daughter Rachel is so cute.......she wrote this on my Grocery List.........And yes, I do have a good and wonderful and oh so sweet grand daughter.......her name is Rachel.

I'm So Dizzy My Head Is Spinning........

2011-01-26T17:12:00.000-08:00

Ok......I am done.......stop the WORLD......I want to get off.......Boy have we been busy......and as you can tell, I am so tired I can't even write a proper sentence! Heaven sounds real good about now.......Anyone interested in going with me?

The Grand-est Birthdays

2010-12-29T17:26:00.000-08:00

The end of the year holds many of my favorite things........The end of the heat of summer, I know, don't hate me....... Fall color and Thanksgiving, Winter's snow and Christmas. It also holds most of my grand children's birthdays.....even my sweet Steph was born in late fall, Halloween day to be exact. My sweet Laura and her husband and oldest son, Aaron, celebrate their birthdays in the summertime. Even Mitch and Dave have winter birthdays, both were born in January.

So, here are some pictures of the grand-est Birthday boys and Girls.........and if I do say so myself.....they are the most handsomest boys and the prettiest girls on the planet!

And in case you are wondering.........Adam is 16, Bethanne and Rachel are 14, Ella Grace is 7, and Dawson is 4.

Christmas Time is Here

2010-12-23T07:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas time is here

Happiness and Cheer

Fun for all the children call

Their favorite time of year.

Snowflakes in the air

Carols everywhere

Olden times and ancient rhymes

Of love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air

Beauty everywhere

Yuletide by the fireside

And joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here

We'll be drawing near

Oh, that we could always see

Such spirit through the year.

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas carols.......it is one of those songs where the words keep going around in my mind.

I agree with the author, I too wish that all of us could, "see such Spirit through the year." For me, the Spirit of Christmas has been and will always be my sweet Jesus......He came to the earth to show us the Father's love.....He was born to love and really, so was I. All of us have a purpose in this life, even if we may not know it today. My prayer this Christmas is that each of us would humbly fall to our knees and ask our Father in heaven just what that purpose is. I pray that as we seek His will for our lives, and as we choose to follow His plan for us, that we would see how deep the Father's love is for us. The word of God says that it will take all of eternity for God to show us just how much he loves us......sounds good to me, and I for one can't wait!

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone.......may Jesus' love wrap your hearts and lives in joy and peace.

Party On

2010-12-16T20:18:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Dawson's birthday early this year. He wanted a Grinch party. He loves to watch the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and he even "slithers" on his belly pretending that he is the Grinch. So, since Laura's house was all decked out for Christmas.....why not have an early birthday celebration. Laura did a great job with all of the decorations and the food. She even made the birthday cake in the shape of a "Who Beast!" She had cans of "Who Hash," green punch, and lots of candy and pizza! My grand daughter, Bethanne, made a life size painting of Cindy Lou Who......who you know, was no more than two......

If I do say so myself, I have two very creative daughters, they throw the best parties....and this one was no exception.......a great Grinchy time was had by all!

An Orphan Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T19:53:00.001-08:00

The week of Thanksgiving we were blessed (yes, blessed!) with an unusual November snowstorm. I LOVED it of course.......Mitch, not so much.

Even though I loved the snow, it did keep us from spending Thanksgiving with our family. Well......our grand children and their parents anyway! Our dear friends from church invited us over for dinner so we weren't completely bereft of holiday cheer.

Slumber Party

2010-11-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well.....here are a few photos from our time with the 4 littlest Rufflings. We had a blast having them ALL to ourselves. We enjoyed a lot of Ruff-housing and laughter, treats and TV watching. I did get in a little trouble though.....I chopped up a Twix bar and Mitch fed it to Mitchie and Charlie. We found out later that Laura hadn't been giving them treats yet...oops :). Like I told Laura, I am the Ninnie and Ninnie's get to give their grand babies treats......it goes with the job!

All 4 of them were so good, they even went to bed without a fuss. We weren't sure how Dawson would react.....he is his daddy's boy, but he did great since Papa is a close second to his parents.

We awoke Saturday morning to Spokane's first snowfall.....so pretty. It was the first snowfall that the twins were aware of it and it was so cute to see their eyes light up as they looked out the window.

Ella, Dawson, and I made place mats for Thanksgiving....aren't they cute?

"When the Cats Away The Mice Will Play"

2010-11-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Mitch and I are off to our kid's house tomorrow, we are going to babysit the four youngest Rufflings...our grand children. I FINALLY talked my Laura into taking her man away for a little R and R.....and we get to have them all to ourselves, for a whole night and a day.

I promised Laura that I would be good.....Not too many sweet treats or TV watching, not too much syrup on the breakfast waffles or too many donuts (that is if we can talk Papa and Dawson into a trip into town).....I am so glad that she couldn't see that my fingers were crossed! Ninnie has been known to be quite naughty when mom isn't looking!

With four little ones we should be very busy and tired, but I am looking forward to it.

I plan to craft some cool Turkey place mats with them, and we will probably play numerous games of Memory, Princess Yatzee, Hi Ho Cherry-O, and of course........a whole lot of Ruff-housing with Papa!

(PS The photos are from our trip to Disneyland......as you can see Ruff-housing happens all the time and in any place......even the older Rufflings get in on it too! I will post photos from this weekend when I get home)

Bringin' In The Sheaves

2010-11-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the photos from our church's Harvest Party.......We throw a Harvest Party each year as an Outreach to our community, and we had over 1,000 adults and children attend this year's event! We had tons of fun games, like "Holey In One"........."Take Off Goliath's Head" (with a bean-bag of course)......and my favorite of all........."Throw Jonah Into the Mouth of the Whale!" Hey, I thought that Jonah came out of the mouth of the whale?? There was a real popcorn machine.....cotton candy galore......and YUMMY caramel apples.....let's just say that the scent on the air was to die for! We served BBQ Hot Dogs and of course there was candy, tons of candy.....FOUR 40 gallon barrels FULL of Candy to be exact!

My friend Melina and her band, played beautiful music for us the entire time, and the children's costumes were adorable.....even the adults got into the spirit of things. I volunteered to man the Information Booth, so I came dressed up as a Nerd.........I guess I didn't pull it off, because everyone thought that I was a Librarian. Now, I visit the library at least twice a month, and I don't recall seeing anyone dressed as I was, so I ask....What library do they go to?

We even had beautiful weather, a little windy at times, but all in all a gorgeous Fall day.

Mitch gave of himself to the Dunk Tank.....I am sure that he was wondering how he got roped into doing this, but he was a good sport about it, but hey, that's my man....he'll do anything for Jesus. Some of the other pastors took a turn too, except Zach and Matt.....party poopers, or should I say........CHICKEN babies!!

Family

2010-10-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

My Aunty Sharon called me today, excited to tell me that she had found her long lost sister!! Aunty told me that she knew that she had a big sister.....it was alluded to during her growing-up years, but she didn't know anything about her. Through the help of an on-line ancestry site, she was able to locate her sister and her sister's son....and the rest is history....my history!
I am amazed at my Aunty's detective skills! Quite a few years back, she had "found" her father....he had been "missing" ever since my Aunty was 5 years old! I love that my Aunty Sharon was able to visit her father before he died, sharing the love of Jesus with him! And because she went to see her father, she met up with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins that she had no memory of! I even got to meet one of my great Aunts and a second cousin, who happened to live here in the Tri Cities.....in fact, my cousin lived next door to me!! Yes, it is totally true......Kim was my neighbor for 5 years, and we didn't even know that we were related! I told Kim that I was thankful that I had been a good neighbor to her, and they to us......how awkward would that have been if we had been feuding neighbors?? I still correspond with another second cousin, Bonnie, and hope to be able to meet her face to face someday.
My family is not one that I would have picked.........there is divorce and destruction throughout, but I know the God who can make something beautiful out of something so ugly, and I thank Him daily for saving me.......so that I would not walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before me.......I thank my heavenly Father for giving me a sweet family life of my own, it could have gone the other way so easily. I thank God for my Aunty who loves Jesus and for my second cousin Bonnie, who loves Him too. I don't know if any others (of that side of my family) serve God, but I pray that they do. I know that my Aunty Sharon is going to share Jesus with her newly found sister, and so I pray that Barbara Jean will fall in love with Him too.
For in MY salvation, the chains of sin have been broken in my life, the sin that still holds some of my family in its grip. But I know my God, and I know how great His mercy is, and someday soon I will see with my own eyes just how far the Father's love reached into my family.

"What greater thing is there for Human Souls than to feel that they are joined for life-to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories."
George Eliot

Hanging Up Our Running Shoes......For Now

2010-10-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been waiting on pins and needles :) to hear how Mitch and I did in our Marathon.......well.........we weren't able to run!

Mitch was doing so good on his running, he even brought his running shoes to Disneyland. He got up early our first morning there, and headed to the gym, and he injured his knee on the treadmill.

Because of an old injury to my leg, I had already been babying my calf for a few weeks. I pulled a ligament and a muscle in the side of my calf a few years back, and it will hurt me every once in a while, but the running seemed to be ok, until I turned wrong one morning.......oops!

A friend of ours, who used to run a lot, until she injured her knees, suggested an Elliptical Trainer. She uses one, and told me that her knees don't hurt her when she "runs" on it. So we are on a hunt for one.

All I can say is.......Getting old is for the birds!!! In my 30's I used to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, working my buns off.......except for the usual muscle aches, I never hurt myself!

Ah well, maybe we can try again in the Spring.......Or maybe not, since I'll be even OLDER!!

Second Spring

2010-10-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

"Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower."

Albert Camus

Fall is here........and if I do say so myself, Autumn is the BEST season of all. Most of you know that I do not like the heat of summer, and so the coming of Fall brings relief from the scorching heat. You have to admit, Fall is a gorgeous time of the year.

The changing season also means that Winter and Christmas are just around the corner....and they, are my favorite times of the year.....don't hate me, but I do love the snow, in fact, I am already praying for the Snow to come!

A few weeks back, during our usual visit to Spokane, Mitch and I went to Green Bluff with the fam. I had always wanted to visit the Bluff......Over the years, my girls had told me about how much fun it is. Green Bluff is an area of Spokane that holds orchards, and fields of produce, and grains. Each year, during the growing seasons, the Bluff is the place to pick your own fresh produce and fruit, but Autumn is the time to be there. Every year during the Fall Green Bluff is alive with people, visiting the orchards to pick apples and pears, sampling apple cider and home backed goodies, like pumpkin donuts.....YUM! There are horse and wagon rides for the kids, and we even went into a field to pick our own pumpkins. The grand kids enjoyed trying to earn a $100 by shooting a potato into a bucket.....too cute! The churches in the area hold Harvest Parties, and the locals open their barn-doors to the public. We enjoyed a meal at a sweet little shop that served the best home-made pies and sandwiches. We ate out on the terrace and listened to live music, enjoying the last few days of sunshine. I brought home a bag of apples, some fresh cut lavender, and of course.......pumpkins......best of all I brought home memories of a day spent with my sweet family, enjoying the blessings of God.

The Magic Kingdom

2010-10-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Disneyland was a blast........Yes, we had our moments (Cali was having a freak heat wave!), but all in all it was great FUN!

The kids did awesome and so did the adults......only a few melt-downs each, yes that includes the adults, but all in all we did well!

In have said it before and I will say it again........I LOVE Disneyland.....there is just something about the place that brings out the kid in me.

My favorite rides are the fast and crazy ones, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain. I love the kiddie rides too, The Mad Hatter's Tea Cups, Peter Pan's Magic Flight, Dumbo, and Alice In Wonderland, and of course the Buzz Lightyear ride. We all were trying to beat each other's scores. One time Mitch took Charlie with him and Charlie kept spinning their spaceship in circles, yet Mitch kept on firing his space gun at the targets....too cute, and I don't have a picture of it....bummer!!

We got to see the fireworks, and Ella loved seeing Tinker Bell's flight from the castle to the top of the Matterhorn.

We spent a small fortune on Churros, and water (did I mention how HOT it was?) and a lot of ice cream and frozen lemonade.

I LOVED being able to share Disneyland with my grands. Ella and Papa had a blast together, two peas in a pod, and the twins were too cute. Charlie loved the Tiki Room, I wish I could show you how cute he was........humming and dancing to the music. Mitchie's favorite ride was Its A Small World, his head would turn back and forth so that he could see it all. Dawson was content to sit in his stroller and enjoy the sights while eating Frozen Lemonade.....his favorite rides were the Buzz Lightyear ride, and the Hungry Caterpillar ride in California Adventure's, A Bug's Life Land.

"And, Away We Go!"

2010-09-17T15:31:00.000-07:00

Mitch and I are heading to Disneyland on Saturday next, with Todd and Laura, and their 4 little ones. I am so excited to be able to go with the newest grand kids. We had the opportunity to go with both of my girls and their families 5 years ago, and now it is time to go with the newest grands.
I loved being at Disneyland with my Steph and Laura when they were young.....they got so excited, and everything was so real to them, as it was for me when I was young.
I remember as a kid thinking that the guns in the Pirates of the Caribbean were real, so I would scrunch down in my seat or hide behind my brother, hoping to not get shot. I remember another ride that looked like you were going to be shrunk to a very tiny being, and then blasted off to Mars in a rocket ship. I really remember being scared the first time I went on it!! I still remember the magic of seeing Cinderella's Castle for the first time, and I remember trying to pull the Sword out of the Stone.
I can remember that my dad would get us spinning so fast in the Tea Cups, that my head would fall back and I could hardly pull it forward we were going so fast, and now my husband does the same thing! And who can forget Peter Pan's Flight? The town of London looks so real, as you fly over it in your sailing ship.
There truly is something magical about Disneyland........the fairy lights in the trees, the scent of Churros on the air, the music of Disney (which you will notice is playing as you read this), the Electric Light Parade, and of course, the different characters walking about (well......Disney characters, not the people kind!), even the parking lots are special.
We plan to stay at the Grand Californian Hotel that is located in Disney's California Adventure Park. With 2 babies and a toddler, it will be nice to have our hotel close by, just in case naps are in order! I have always wanted to be able to stay at the park, so it should be great fun.

"Run Marci.....Run"

2010-09-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

You know the saying that goes something like this......"Its heck getting old?" Or....."Getting old is for the birds?" Well, I quite agree. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change what I know today, with an 18 year old. Now, if I could retain what I have learned so far in life, and have an 18 year old body again, I just might go for it!

Mitch and I have packed on a few pounds over the last five years, and we both knew it was time to do something about it. So what did we decided to do? Run a Marathon!! That's right a Marathon, in October!! Now, before you say that we are crazy, please know that we will not be running a full Marathon. Mitch is training to run a half Marathon and I am training to run the one that is only 3 miles long.

I have to tell you that I do not like to run, it is not something that I have ever liked to do. My idea of exercise is a brisk walk through the woods, listening to the birds and squirrels chatter away, or maybe a nice long bicycle ride down by the river, or a hike up a beautiful mountain, enjoying the wildflowers and the view.

I lost 7 pounds last year while in Greece and Italy (even though I ate like a pig!), since we walked everywhere we went, so I know that exercise is a good thing.

Anyway.....we decided that running will be the thing to do. We began to train in June, and the first thing we did was loose some weight. I am so proud of Mitch......he has lost 25 pounds already!! He only has a few more to go to reach his goal weight. I didn't have as much weight to loose as he did, but I am well on my way to reaching my goal. And, no I am not going to tell you how much I weigh, don't you know that it is not polite to ask a girl her weight (or her age!)?

Of course, Mitch can already run 2-and-a-half to 3 miles without stopping.

I love watching him run.....he has a smooth gait, with a little bounce to his step, he makes it look so easy. I on the other hand do not have a smooth gait, in fact I keep telling Mitch that I run like a lumbering ox! He on the other hand keeps telling me that I do not look like an ox. He tells me that I have a runners body.......long legs and a shorter torso, but I can't even run 1 mile without having to walk some of it, so I will just have to trust him on this! Did I tell you that I don't like to run?

Mitch keeps encouraging me to continue on, he really thinks that I can do this. He keeps reminding me of the time that I ran a Marathon with him, and I remind him that it was 20 years ago, and that I was 10 pounds lighter.........and then I remind him again, that I don't like to run!! And, he keeps telling me to, "Stop whining like a mule?" Maybe he should change that to, "Quit whining like a lumbering ox?"

il bello Venezia

2010-09-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

We were talking to some friends the other day, reminiscing about our trip to Greece and Italy last fall, and I realized that I hadn't finished sharing our Overseas Adventure.......so, here is the first instalment of the rest of the story.

We spent the last three days of our vacation in Italy, and if I do say so myself, these were my favorite days of all.

We spent a day in Florence, a day in Venice, and a day in Rome. Of course, only having a day meant that we could only see a portion of each city, but I enjoyed it none the less.

Of the three cities, my favorite by far was Venice......the canals with gondolas sailing up and down, and the old brick bridges that allowed us to walk over them. The ancient and beautiful buildings, with vines trailing from the roofs, and moss growing on the walls. The narrow cobblestone pathways that twist and turn throughout the city, with the scent of the sea on the air.

After a day of exploration, we enjoyed a late supper at a restaurant that we discovered was a favorite of the locals. The interior of the place was an experience I won't soon forget......dark wood paneling and stucco walls, yellowed with age......chunky wooden tables and mismatched dining chairs......the scent of wine and garlic, seafood and coffee......a family eating a birthday supper together, complete with gifts and a cake......there was even a dog resting under one of the tables waiting for its owners to finish dinner. The food was some of the best I have ever tasted........the freshest seafood and a juicy steak, with the ever present side of homemade pasta. We had a coffee and walked back to our hotel in the romantic light of beautiful wrought iron lamps.

The next morning, after breakfast, we headed to Piazza San Marco, where we boarded a water taxi (there are no motor vehicles in Venice) and headed to the train station to catch the early train to Rome.

"Why....?'

2010-08-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

"I know now Lord, why You utter no answer.

You are Yourself the answer.

Before Your face questions die away.

What other answer would suffice?"

C.S. Lewis

"It is Good......"

2010-07-31T13:23:00.000-07:00

Didn't Mitch do a FABULOUS job on his creation? I LOVE it and I sit on the swing, enjoying the shade each morning.......Reading my Bible and watching the robins and the starlings hunt for worms. The shade is heavenly and what is even better.........this morning we had a thunderstorm and I sat out there and stayed safe and dry! It was so nice sitting there listening to the rain fall and the thunder roll.

GOOD JOB hon! Thank you for ALL of your hard work......each time I am out there enjoying the shade, I FEEL your love for me. What a blessed woman I am, I couldn't ask for more. Well.......maybe a fire pit, and an outdoor kitchen, some patio furniture would be nice......oh and a snuggle with my honey on a new porch swing (I know that you can build one......I only have to look up and see your talent for building things!!)

Life Abundant

2010-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

As I was returning home from Spokane last week, I saw a doe and her fawn dead on the side of the road. Not a pretty picture to have on my mind and yet it keeps on returning........I love how the Lord uses even sad things to get my attention about some issue of life........The sight of the doe with her fawn lying on the roadside brought a thought to mind....a little one will follow its mother, even if it means following her to death.....I know that we humans are different than animals, we have a reasoning mind and can make choices, whereas an animal has instincts, and must follow them. As a mom I have the power to greatly influence my children, and their children, and their children.......They WILL FOLLOW me. I want my children to follow me to LIFE and not to DEATH, and I am not talking about a literal death (like the poor little fawn). Jesus said that He came to give us life, and that more abundantly..........He wasn't just speaking of eternal life, but of this LIFE that I live here on the earth. My life, our lives, affect others. What I do or don't do here in this life will follow me into eternity. I am not perfect, no human is.......but I want my life to reflect what I believe, what I KNOW. Each and every moment of everyday I will affect the lives of those around me, for good or for bad. And so, I choose today to FOLLOW my Jesus....to go where He has gone....to do as He does....to love and serve with compassion and caring. And as I follow Jesus, I pray that my life will be an example worth following.........

Under Construction

2010-07-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my honey.....the Patio Cover is taking shape and it looks great, doesn't it? He has been working long hours and I am so thankful for his willingness to do so! All I know is that I am going to "owe" him BIG TIME!!

Raising the Roof

2010-06-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Finally. At Last. The time has come to begin our patio cover! We have wanted to have some shade in our backyard for 4 years now, and our little trees just 'aint cuttin' it........give them a few more decades and then we shall see.......they are trying though.......I go out and encourage them every day.

Mitch has been hard at it, and if I do say so myself, doing a mighty fine job of it. No really, I am very impressed. It isn't that I thought that he couldn't do it, I knew that he could.......it's just.......why would he want to do it?!! I sure wouldn't want to work out in the heat and use power tools all day long, and I know for a fact that I would never be able to decipher a set of building plans, trust me I've tried! I have to give credit to my son-in-law for his hard work on the plans.......thanks Davie, you're awesome!! I am loved, for you see that is the reason for the patio cover.......Mitch knows that I would love to have one. He knows that I love to be outside. But......The LOVE doesn't end with covering the patio.......he is also building a small BBQ island, complete with a gas burner, and a counter top, and a fireplace too! We will be able to enjoy the out of doors in any season! He did inform me the other day that the fireplace might be a project for next year.........ah well......I will try to be patient. I am planning to promise him a "cuddling session" by the fire........you never know, it might speed things up a bit!

A Bit of Boasting.....

2010-06-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Please excuse me while I brag.......I can't help myself, for this is something to be boasting about! My daughter Stephenie called me earlier this week to let me know that my sweet grand children aced their final exams! All three of them received A's!! My granddaughters Bethanne and Rachel made "Eagle of the Year" and Adam finished well too. I am so proud of them and of their hard work........But most of all, I am so proud of my daughter Steph. For those of you who may not know, Steph home schooled her children up until this past year. She is the one who taught them their ABCs, how to read, and how to do math, but I am most proud of the way that she and her man, David, have raised them to love and fear the Lord. Adam is becoming a man of God and he showed this as he went through a very difficult time with another student. He showed that he could overcome adversity by following the Word of God and I am so thankful for that. Bethanne and Rachel have recently been struggling with some pretty scary health issues......they are in the process of wearing heart monitors to determine exactly what is going on......and yet, they continue to find humor in the situation (see my Steph's blog for a post about this), and both of them continue to grow in the graces of God.

The photo that is included in this post says it all......It was taken at the girls' baptism........

I am remembering today to thank the Lord for answered prayer.....I have prayed fervently for all of my sweet grand babies, and He has once again been faithful to answer me. A long time ago God made a promise to me about having many grand children to enjoy. At the time of the promise, there was only 2 year old Adam and we were moving to Colorado, and I was very heart broken to be leaving my family behind in Washington. In the passage of scripture that He impressed on my heart at that time, is a line that caused me to hope that I would again live close to my family. The verse tells of it only being a moment that we would be separated......And here I am experiencing the joy of this word from the Father being fulfilled!

So, here's to you Adam, Bethanne, and Rachel.........Grammie says, "Well Done.......I am so PROUD of you.....and I love you so very much!!"

"Lucky in Love"

2010-05-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

For the last few years I have been going through that wonderful......as I type this word, my tongue is in my cheek and I am rolling my eyes!.....time of life called, Menopause.

Here recently, I had had a particularly bad couple of weeks, and one day my sweet Mitch surprised me with flowers.

As you can see from the photo, they look very pretty in their vase, and the colors were some of my favorite, deep pinks and oranges. It did my heart good to look at them, until..........Mitch came home, so excited to see my reaction, and when he saw the flowers, his face literally fell! I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything for a while. He finally let on that he had ordered the bouquet on-line from Lucky Flowers, a new florist shop in town. He had even taken the time to call the florist and asked for an upgrade......he said that he had wanted it to be a big WOW!! Well, it was a WOW, just not in the way that he thought. I won't tell you what the cost of the arrangement was, lets just say that the 4"x4" vase had maybe 10 flowers, 5 of which had brown petals and stuffed in it were a few fern-ny things, and it looked like it was put together by a 5th grader, was worth maybe $20, but he paid a bunch more.....no pun intended!

And if that wasn't enough the card was full of errors and when read was quite humorous......it read like I had sent myself the flowers!!

We tried to take the arrangement back, since the receipt said that they offered 100% satisfaction, but we quickly learned that the guarantee didn't mean getting your money back, just a new arrangement, with the same flowers, put together by the same person!

Needless to say, we came home with that same little 4"x4" vase of flowers and I proudly displayed it on my coffee table, because each time I looked at it I was reminded of my husbands love for me and of how lucky I am to be his wife!

Welcome to Our Yard

2010-05-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

I love to be out of doors, and I love working in our yard.....I don't care for the heat of summer, so spring time is my favorite time of year to work outside.

Mitch took a day off last week and I got him out in the yard to help me move some Barberry bushes from near our driveway, and place them against our fence. And in case you think that it was not very nice of me to ask Mitch to work on his day off, I re-payed him by making his favorite cookies. He was pleased with our trade-off.....now I know how to get him to help me!

Along the fence is a much better place for them.......I don't think that it was very inviting to have bushes with thorns on them so close to the driveway!! I am sure that my girls will be pleased.....they invariably were poked each time they visited (Sorry girls...I really do like for you to visit!)

We had planted some trees last fall, one was an evergreen and the other a Mimosa (Silk) tree. They seemed to be fine........stayed green until the fall, but the deciduous one didn't break dormancy and the evergreen, well.......it didn't stay evergreen...more like an ugly shade of yellow-brown. We called the nursery where we had purchased them and they were very sweet and replaced them. We actually traded the evergreen for a beautiful Laurel bush and I love it, and we replaced the Mimosa tree with another maple tree.

Mitch and I seem to be drawn to maples, we had two beautiful ones in our front yard when we lived in Colorado.

As I looked at our new tree, I was reminded of something that I read in the Psalms.......

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3

I love how even nature, the world around me, speaks of my God and in turn, speaks to my heart........May I always stay planted by the Living Water that flows from the throne of God.

This One is for You

2010-05-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

You ask why I don't write? Well.....here is my answer!

I really enjoy thinking of things to blog about, I get some fun ideas, but getting the thoughts from my head to the computer is the hard part......they seem to get stuck in my head and they won't come out.....or I get bothered by a certain someone, who interrupts my chain of thought and asks me questions that I don't have answers for because, well.....I am trying to write!

So in honor of YOU.......

I love you more than words could ever express. You are the one who makes my heart sing.

Thanks for always being willing to do my "Honey-Do" list........I know that you would love me to be all done with my DIY projects, but hey, it keeps me out of trouble, and there are only a few more to do........well, a few more to do this week anyway!

Thanks for taking me to "Chick Flicks" and for buying me Kettle Corn, and you even let me hold the bag!!

Thanks for being there for me through these last few years....getting old is the pits!!

Thanks for being my BFF, and for being my very own sweet husband!

Thanks for taking me to the AMS games, and for putting up with me talking "smack" to the refs.

Thanks for loving our girls, and for being an awesome Father-in-law, Papa, and Gramps.

Thanks for loving Jesus, and thanks for helping me to love Him too.

I love you, love you, love you.......

Lost and Found

2010-04-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I was going to share photos of our vacation, and as so I hooked up the camera to my computer but, they weren't there!! I searched and searched for them.......all I could find were a few from the last few days of vacation. I went to look again, and low and behold, there they were!! All of them, but I can't seem to get them to load to my computer.......they seem to be lost somewhere inside of my camera's memory. I can see them on my camera's screen, but I can't get them to download to my computer so that you can see them!

I got to thinking of how this is similar to my heart........I want to do the right thing, the "good"thing, and I want to please my Lord.........I know that the "good" is there, because Jesus lives inside of me, but how to get the "good" to come out, so that others can see it, is another thing entirely.....the "good" gets lost somewhere inside of the sinful, the "bad" part of me.

Paul said that the "good" he wanted to do so often turned into the "bad" that he didn't want to do.....whew, that is a mouthful.........So, what is a girl to do?

Like Paul I am to, "Thank God that through Jesus Christ my Lord........" I can do the things of God!! I just need to get out of the way and let Jesus have His way, and behold.......the "good" is what comes out of me......

And the pictures? Stay tuned, they will be coming.........I think I need the Geek Squad for this one.

Lets Go AMS!!

2010-04-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

I love hockey....and not just any hockey.......Tri City Amercians hockey. I do have to credit this love of the game to our good friends, Robb and Maribeth Myers, who so graciously gifted us with tickets these last 5 years! Sharing the game with them and the Woods family is so much fun and I look forward to each and every game.

I do have to say that I am quite the crazy fan......yes, I am. I cheer and encourage "our boys" quite loudly, and yes, I yell at the refs. Mitch has to frequently remind me to not call them idiots and to not ask if they want to borrow my glasses cuz they are so blind!!!

While Mitch and I were on vacation, we had the opportunity of seeing the Ams play in Round 1 against the Bruins, at the Chilliwack arena. For vacation we had planned to drive to Canada and we just happened to be up there and in the area of Chilliwack for one of the games.......how cool is that? The Ams won that game in over-time too. I had taken a bunch of photos of the game, but I accidently deleted them (and most of our trip's photos) from my camera.

Well, the Ams did it again.......they won in overtime, and defeated the Kelowna Rockets (the WHL Defending Champions no less) in Round two of the play-offs!! The Ams were down 3 to 0 until the third period of play when we scored 3 and tied the game!! The Ams scored the game winning goal within the first 5 minutes of over-time play. I bet the house was rockin'!!!

We missed seeing the game in person......we go to Spokane once a month to visit the family and we knew that we were going to miss Friday night's game (I hope they all know just how much we love them, since we miss out on going to the games on those weekends!). So, I should have been in Spokane this Friday visiting with my family, but I got real sick and stayed home, while Mitch went up to Spokane without me.

I tried to follow the game on-line, but didn't know how to, and so I missed it!! It wasn't until the 11 o'clock news that I heard the final score, and even though I was sick, I yelled like a mad woman.....well, it was more like a hoarse squeek, but my heart was yelling for sure!!

Round 3 here we come!! We won't know until tonight who we will be playing, but watch out......here we come!!

Here is what one of our players, Johnny Lazo (Johnny scored the game-tying goal), was quoted as saying (in the local newspaper), "I was just banging away, luckily it just found its way into the net. This place was amazing. The fans erupted after I scored and after Reddick's (game winning) goal. Our fans are amazing."

And, if I do say so myself, we ARE!!

Heading North

2010-03-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are finally heading to Canada........Mitch and I are taking off on a road-trip to visit our "neighbors" to the north. I have wanted to see Canada for the longest time, especially Banff, which we are stopping at the first night, and then we will see where the wind takes us. We plan to head west to the coast from Banff, and then drive home through the northern Cascades of Washington. This isn't a very pretty time of year to see Canada, but I am sure that we won't be disappointed......I will take loads of photos and post some when we get home.
I love adventures........No itineraries to keep, the freedom to take your time seeing the sites, stopping for the night when you get tired, eating along the way at quaint diners or drive-ins.
That reminds me of a time that we stopped at a drive-in on our way home from Las Vegas (many moons ago, in case you were wondering......) We were driving along and I saw a sign for 'Fresh Strawberry Shakes' and of course, I had to stop. Mitch didn't want to stop at a place that we didn't know, after all his taste in food is much superior to mine......If you could see me right now you would notice the lump in the side of my cheek. He gave in to my sweet weedlin' ways, and then began to tease me about how gross the place would be......greasy and dirty and bug infested. We pulled into the parking lot and yes, it looked a little run down.....what do you expect for the middle of the desert? We parked and walked up to the window to order our food, and a yummy shake, and as I was looking at the order board, Mitch tapped me on the shoulder and gestured for me to look down........You guessed it, a big roach scurried across the counter........and we scurried right on outta there!

Cruising Crete

2010-03-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Day six of our European Vacation began as we docked in Heraklion, Crete.

Mitch spent the morning diving with his buddies. He has never gone deep sea diving, but was able to go with a guide. He said that they didn't see much, the sea was not very clear that day. They did get an "eyeful" though.....Mitch said that his guide gestured for him to "look-up," and when he did........well, I am sure that you can imagine what he saw!

I spent the morning shopping with the girls. I loved the fact that we were in an area that was frequented by the locals......We even went to a Yard Sale that was raising funds for the Red Cross. We had gelatto (well, we had two....the man who waited on us remembered me and asked, "You're back again?") and a Starbucks, and then spent the rest of our time spending our Euros........I loved how clean and pretty the area was. There was a nice fountain in the middle of the square and a little park, and a few cafes with outdoor tables.

That evening on board the ship we went to the Captain's Formal Dinner. We dressed up in our "pretties" and had another delicious meal. I told Mitch that we have officially made it to adulthood......we have a photo of us, all dressed up, standing on the stairs of a cruise ship!

The Gift Giver

2010-03-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

"God is so good that He only awaits our desire to overwhelm us with the gift of Himself"
Francois Fenelon

Something To Ponder.....

2010-03-02T14:25:00.000-08:00

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." C.S. Lewis

Spring Has Sprung

2010-02-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

"No Winter lasts forever, no Spring skips its turn." I don't remember the author of this quote, but I have thought of it often. It has felt like this winter would never end and lately, I have been holding on to the truth of this statement. If I do say so myself, this winter was unusual. We didn't have a lot of snow, and the days were not too cold, just alot of rain and dreary cloud cover. I have been so looking forward to Spring, and this weekend the weather finally cooperated.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, so we decided to get the boat up and running, ready for a summer filled with Bass fishing. After we charged the battery and got out the fishing tackle, we were off to the river. Well, we didn't catch a thing, but we had a great time anyway.

It was heavenly just being out of doors and on the water. We enjoyed the sounds of the birds and of the Canada Geese, and we even saw a bald eagle from a far. We tried to maneuver the boat close enough to take a picture, but the geese decided to fly at that exact moment, and off it flew with them. Ah well, maybe next time?

"Talking Turkey"

2010-02-17T14:15:00.001-08:00

While on our cruise, one of my favorite destinations, was Turkey. We were able to spend the whole day there and I loved everything about it. Mitch and I are talking about going back for a longer stay. Turkey is where the six churches were located, that are mentioned in the first few chapters of book of Revelation.

We started out with a drive to the ancient city of Ephesus. The ruins of this city were an awe inspiring sight to behold. We were able to walk about on cobblestones of marble that have been there for ages. We saw the ruins of the Roman baths and saunas, and even the marketplace. I wondered if one of the stalls was where Paul worked making tents to sell. We were able to see where archaeologists were in the process of excavating the areas where the general population lived. One of the largest buildings still standing was the city's Library. It was a beautifully sculpted, palace like structure and we were able to stand on the steps and take photos.

My favorite part of our visit there was Bible study in the Amphitheater. We are told in Acts that through Paul's preaching, many turned from the worship of the goddess Artemis (Dianna), to the worship of God. This made the idol-makers mad, and they caused the people of Ephesus to drag two of Paul's companions to this very same Amphitheater for trial. The Bible records for us that the whole city came to the Amphitheater for the trial, and that they rioted and yelled for two hours, "Great is Dianna of the Ephesians." The Amphitheaters of the ancient world are huge, and yes, this one was large enough to accommodate all of the citizens of the city.

After our time at the site of Ephesus, we went to lunch at a family owned and operated restaurant that was situated in the middle of an Olive Grove. It was a beautiful setting and we had a delicious lunch, under a vine covered pergola. Mitch and I tried our first taste of Turkish coffee, very strong and sweet, and we both really liked it!

After lunch, we were off to a Turkish Rug Weaving School, where we learned how silk, from silk worm cocoons, is turned into beautiful hand made Turkish rugs. Some of the rugs that we were shown, took 4 women a whole year to weave!

Silver and Old

2010-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

I was talking to Jesus this morning and telling Him that I was feeling old and worn out. A very busy life and too many late nights spent awake with hot flashes, (or should I say, "power surges?") has left me tired and cranky.
This was God's answer to me:
"Even to your old age, I am He, and even to your gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you." Isaiah 46:4
I LOVE how God speaks to me. He knows my inner most thoughts and feelings, and He knows just the right thing to say.
I know that there will be many days ahead that I will feel the same as I do today, BUT I can also KNOW that my God will carry me through them all.
So, I am off to begin a new day.........I think that the first thing I am going to do is to check my hair.........I may be old, but I certainly don't have to look the part!

This Little Light of Mine

2010-01-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

I know that this post is a little out of order.......Christmas has already come and gone....but I would like to share something that I have been thinking about, and it all began at the Christmas Eve service..........

We had a great service and at the end of it, we turned off the lights and sang carols by candle light. Our church doesn't give candles to the little ones, but you know how kids are......they want what they can't have.....so just as we paused between songs, a little one started crying and screaming, "I want the fire daddy!" Over and over again, as he was being carried out of the sanctuary. Of course, we all giggled and felt sorry for the parents, we have all been embarrassed by our children at one time or another, right?

On a recent Sunday, Steve preached on Jesus being the Source of Light in our lives. The Light that guides us and teaches us. The Light that shows us the truth about ourselves. The Light that will shine out of our hearts into the lives of others. He spoke on how we so often are afraid of this Light or maybe we don't think that we need the Light, and of how we may try to replace the Light with other things. As he was finishing the sermon, he asked us, "What is keeping you from the Source of Light?"

I have been thinking about this question and doing some soul searching........Am I content with how my heart is today? Am I, on a daily basis, living in the Light? Am I willing to ask God to set my heart on fire? Will I live for Him and will I be willing to be burned up in service to Him and to others? My answer is, "Yes......I want the fire, Daddy!!"

"What is Christmas With No Snow?"

2009-12-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-21T16:19:00.001-08:00

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.......

2009-12-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

30 and Counting.......

2009-12-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-05T14:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-21T16:14:00.000-08:00

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"

2009-10-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-10-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

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......

2009-09-10T19:51:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

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..........

2009-09-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

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......

2009-08-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-08-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

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......