Author Archives: Ellen

Meeting Some California Family…

Dan, Jamie, Addy and I arrived at the Orange County airport on Saturday evening, February 3rd. It was going to be a weekend filled with new people for Addy to meet.

D, J, and A stayed with our niece Debbee and husband Lenny in Huntington Beach. Debbee and her brother David lived around the corner from us when Josh and Dan were little and they enjoyed lots of time being together. We missed seeing David and his wife Kristin this time since they were enjoying Maui.

I stayed with my sister Vera, Addy’s Great Aunt Vera. Vera is Debbee and David’s mom.

On Sunday at our Super Bowl gathering, Addy met a few more of her people. Great Aunt Kelly had interesting earrings.

Cousin Melissa once removed and great Auntie (Nan) Kathy.

Cousins once and twice removed. Our niece Michelle’s family. Michelle and Melissa are my sister Kathy’s girls. Our Josh, Dan, and Katie spent lots of time growing up with Michelle, Melissa, Debbee and David.

This is Great Uncle Terry, Dear’s only brother, and Auntie Christina.

Being social is very tiring.

On Monday the meetings continued with Great Aunt Lana and our dear old pop and Great Uncle Len.  I’ll have a post of it’s own on Addy’s meeting with her Great Dzeda (grandfather). The evidence is in that Addy is comfortable around people and is very social. She is especially willing to go to you if you have some jewelry on.

Monday evening Addy got to test out the sand on her toes, too.

It was so good to have many hours with Addy May and to spend time with Dan, Jamie and the members of our family that could come out to Huntington Beach for the Super Bowl party. We packed in a lot of extended family time and Addy adjusted well to everything new to her. All of my sisters were together on Monday with our dear old pop and that was good. Didn’t see any of my brothers this trip. I didn’t get a chance to walk the Huntington Beach Pier this time around, either. Next time…

So thankful to God for safe travels, seeing loved ones, cuddle time with Addy, being able to pray with our dear old Pop and that Pop could meet Addy and pray a blessing over her, Dan and Jamie.

Back here at home we are waiting for a promise of weather that is dryer and brighter next week. Hoping for a dry morning on Friday for a walk with Katie and Laura. Other than that we are having a quiet weekend. Hope you all have a good weekend.

A Bright Hodgepodge

1. February can be a little bit tricky given the weather and the winter and the whatnot. I read a list (here) of things you can do to make your February brighter which included-start planning your next trip, take more baths, make your own chocolate covered strawberries, and exercise in preparation for swimsuit season. Anything on the list you might try? Which suggestion on the list appeals to you most? Tell us something not on the list that helps make your February brighter.

The suggestion that appeals to me most is to plan a trip!

I just flew to Southern California and enjoyed lots of extended family time along with sweet Addy time and sunshine, so February is having a good bright start.

While Addy’s mommy ran in the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach with our niece Debbee, and her daddy rode a bike along the route with our nephew-in-law, Baba watched and mostly sat with Addy asleep and cuddled on her with Great Aunt Vera preparing brunch for the marathoners in the background. Addy slept for 3-1/2 hours and woke up just in time for mommy and daddy to arrive for brunch.

2. Tell us about something you’ve seen or done recently that you’d say was ‘super’?

Umm, spending Super Sunday with my extended family in Southern California. Am I sounding like a broken record?

3. Best thing you ate in a ‘bowl’ last week?

Just one? We enjoyed some Ground Chicken Chili in a bowl last week. Recipe coming soon to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog. Yesterday we had some fabulous guacamole in a bowl at Ola’s in Huntington Beach.

4. Something you’re ‘cheering’ for right now?

Cheering for my daughter-in-law and niece who completed a half marathon with flying colors in Huntington Beach on Sunday.

5. The Winter Olympics begin Friday, February 9th in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being all in and 1 being no interest whatsoever) how interested are you in the games? Which event do you most want to see (you’ll find a list here).

I’ll give it a 9! I enjoy watching many events and will never forget the Ice Hockey final in 1980 in Lake Placid. I’m pretty sure we were late or missed church that day. We could not tear ourselves from that “miracle on ice” moment for the USA.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Addy met my dear old pop on Monday. He was able to have enough breath to pray a blessing over her and over Dan and Jamie as they raise her. So grateful for this moment. Otherwise, he is ready to go be with his Savior, Jesus.

More about my time in Southern California coming soon.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks the questions and we answer them.

Back to My Digs…

Soon I’ll share the long and short of it all.

It was a very good few days in Southern California. I’m home again this evening and will be sharing more about my time away this week. I’ll be catching up with your blogs soon. On this trip I did not take my computer. One thing I found out is that I’m not that comfortable using my phone for the same things I use my computer for. That translates to, I’m way behind on what you all have been doing the last several days. Happy for the chance to travel and see loved ones and happy to be home again. See you soon.

I Surrender All ~ Hymn

I Surrender All

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His name!

Refrain

Words: Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896.

I’m posting this hymn in honor of our dear old pop who is waiting for His Savior to take him home. “All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me Jesus; take me now.” He is currently in Hospice care in my oldest sister’s home. Dan, Jamie, Addy and I will hopefully have a nice visit with him on Monday, introducing him to his newest Great Granddaughter.

January 14, 2017 above and the next four at grandson Joe’s wedding.

Most of pop’s grandchildren and great grands.

At my mom’s funeral in 2013.

My pop praying a marriage blessing on Katie and Andrew, 2012.

Me and my pop from 1973 and 2017.

Weekend Roundup “E”

1. Starts with “E.”

ellen b. with her sister Vera in the early 70’s in La Mirada/Whittier, California. Trying to remember the name of the dog in this photo. Maybe my sister Vera can fill in the dots. Update: My brother Leonard remembered the dog’s name…Sashka.


2. A Favorite

ellen b. in her corduroys and boots with her huge ichthus at work at Montgomery Ward in the early 70’s. Ichthus was the Greek word for “fish.” In the early church sometime during  the end of the first century, the word was made into an acronym. As such, ichthus compiles to Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr which translate to “Jesus Christ, God’s son, Savior,” based on this configuration. The early 70’s are a favorite time to recall in the history of my life and how this time has impacted the rest of my life.


3. Evening.

A lovely evening on the shores of Lake Washington looking across the lake to Seattle.

Thank you Tom for hosting The Weekend Roundup.  Feeling a bit nostalgic as I’m heading to Southern California for some extended family time this weekend.

 

It’s February

Do you associate the color red or pink with the month of February? I think of purple, too, because of my sister Vera’s birthstone, amethyst. She is a leap year baby. My mom was big on birthstones and each of us girls got a birthstone ring for our 16th birthday. Or maybe some of my sisters got necklaces instead of a ring. (Vera?) Now I’m wondering if my youngest sister ever got a birthstone ring. If she didn’t don’t feel sorry for her because her boss has gifted her some amazing precious stones! I remember picking my ring out at a jewelry outlet in Los Angeles.

The stone, aquamarine, is not precious in this ring, the setting is in white gold, though.  Lots of memories associated with it. I need to have it sized so it will fit me again.

I’m joining my kids from eastern Washington on a plane ride to John Wayne Airport in southern California for a few days.

From views and walks like the one above to…

…a walk on the Huntington Beach Pier.

On this trip I’m looking forward first to being reunited with our Eastern Washington kids and Addy at Seatac airport. From Seattle we fly together to Orange County/John Wayne airport in Southern California Saturday evening. On Sunday we’ll be seeing many of our extended family after Jamie and our niece Debbee run in a half marathon in Huntington Beach with brunch at the end of the run and then a Superbowl party later in the afternoon and evening. And last and certainly not least visiting with my dear old pop on Monday. He will get to see Addy for the first time. He is her only great grandparent on my side of the family. My pop is not doing well and is tired and weary of continuing his life on this earth. He is in Hospice care in my oldest sister’s home. Bittersweet moments.

I am not taking my computer with me on this trip so there will not be any posts about my trip until after I get home on Tuesday. Hope you all have a great weekend. See ya next week!

January’s End Hodgepodge

 
1. Speaking of endings….at your wit’s end, at loose ends, a dead end, burn the candle at both ends, all’s well that end’s well, or no end in sight…which ‘end’ phrase might best be applied to your life lately? Explain.
I’m going with…no end in sight. Miles to go before we move. So many obstacles to work around. One of those obstacles is finding the best moving company option for our stuff. We were disappointed to find that no Pod companies deliver to the zip code we are moving to. We are now thinking seriously of getting rid of a lot more stuff instead of paying to have it moved. We are in “getting the house ready to sell” mode.
 2. What was a must have accessory when you were growing up? Did you own one? If so tell us what you remember about it.

I don’t know how my brain brought this one up to the forefront. In junior high I had to have the latest fad/trend going around in southern California, suspenders. I nagged my mother relentlessly to be able to buy them. My family never had extra money and I’m sure this request seemed ridiculous to my parents. For me it was a “need to have”.

3. Something that made you smile yesterday?

The sun, the sun! The sun broke through and the rain stopped long enough for me to finish pruning the pear tree! Woohoo! And then I spotted my sweet Lenten Rose blooming!

4. January 30th is National Croissant Day. Do you like croissants? Sweet or savory? We’re having chicken salad for lunch…would you rather have yours served on a croissant, a wrap, a bagel, bread, or a roll of some sort?

Yes and yes, sweet and savory. We just had my “not your mamas chicken salad” on croissants last week. And we also had that filling on Belgium Endive as an appetizer for Josh’s birthday dinner.

5. Sum up your January in fifteen words or less.

From the first to the last we enjoyed celebrations of birth and marriage with thanks.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Besides birthdays, rain was a constant theme for the month of January. It was so nice to have a spell without that blessing from the sky on Tuesday. I want to remember to stay up and gaze on that Blue moon tonight.

Our little Addy is walking like a champ and next week I’ll have fresh photos to share of her because I get to fly to California with her parents and her to spend a few days with my extended family. This Baba is excited to see her face to face after more then a month. She’ll be meeting her only great grandfather who is alive, my dear old Pop while we are there, too.

Linking up with Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks the questions and we answer them. Thank you for reading my answers.

Barns and Birthday!

We spotted these red barns on Conway Hill road in Skagit County back in December of 2017.

Linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

Back to the present. We had a wonderful time catching up with our Western Washington kids over a belated birthday dinner for our son Josh.

Looking forward to some plans and ideas that we came up with to make moving easier for everyone! We also enjoyed lots of good food.

Appetizers, then salad and on to the main course of rack of lamb with rice pilaf ending with chocolate cake and ice cream.

How was your weekend? Was it quiet or filled with activity?

Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone? ~ Hymn

Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
And there’s a cross for me.

How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.

The consecrated cross I’ll bear
Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear,
For there’s a crown for me.

Upon the crystal pavement down
At Jesus’ piercèd feet,
Joyful I’ll cast my golden crown
And His dear Name repeat.

O precious cross! O glorious crown!
O resurrection day!
When Christ the Lord from Heav’n comes down
And bears my soul away.

Words: Thomas Shepherd, 1693.

Matthew 16:24-26 ~

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Weekend Roundup “D”

It’s just about time for Tom’s Weekend Roundup and the prompts for this week are.

1. Starts with “D”   2. A Favorite   3. Details

Starts with “D.”  

Deer or…

my Dear.

A Favorite (or Favorites)!

Daughter, Daughter-in-laws, granddaughter and…

Our son Dan who is now a daddy with our granddaughter.

Details.

Dinner table decorated. It’s all in the details.

Our table is set for a belated birthday dinner on Saturday evening. Our sons and one of our daughter-in-laws had birthdays in January but we only get to set a table for Josh since Dan and Jamie can’t travel over the mountains at this time to be included. I love the DETAILS when setting a table and seeing how things come together. Josh, Laura, Andrew, Katie, Dear and I will be sitting at this table.

Here are the details: I wanted something a little more masculine so I chose the English Transferware dishes with English scenes on them. They are Royal Stafford, made in England. Pewter seemed like a good choice to add and I was able to scrounge up 6 Pewter tankards, which are manly. Dear and I purchased two of the tankards in London in 1974. The rest of the tankards although purchased here and there over time are all made in Sheffield, England. The sterling is 1810 International, a wedding gift from my parents back when sterling was less than stainless is now. Each of the napkin rings has a story. Two matching were souvenirs from a trip to England in the 70’s. The one with my name engraved on it was a birthday gift from Dear many years ago. One is from a set of 8 sterling rings (Gorham) gifted to us as wedding gifts from Dear’s parents. Two others I found at Goodwill. The metal candle holder in the center was something I picked up at Goodwill. The little flower pot name place holders were purchased at a junk trunk show in Monroe a few years back. Pewter salt and pepper sets have been around a long time and I can’t remember where we purchased them. The napkins,  tablecloth and tablerunner all came from thrift stores. That’s probably way more details then you wanted to read.

One more thing, I hope I remember to take a photo of all of us sitting at the table enjoying the birthday meal we prepare for Josh.

Next week’s prompts.
Starts with “E.”
A Favorite
Evening.

Thank you Tom for hosting.