Author Archives: Ellen

Honoring Our Heritage…

…and since we are on the letter H this week for Alphabe-Thursday I decided to share. Thank you Miss Jenny for keeping us on track.

It’s hard to take a photo of photos especially when they are framed under glass. This grouping of happy photos makes me smile. It was one of those gifts that came together so well. When I saw the photo of my mother and me (photo on top) I remembered I had a similar photo with our daughter Katie (middle photo). Then I remembered I had a similar photo of Dear with his mother (bottom photo). I set out to find the right frame so I could have them all together in one grouping. A family heritage gift for Katie. Hope you are all have a harbor full of  happy thoughts today. I’ll come to hover over your H posts soon…

Winter Sunshine!

I’m so enjoying some winter sunshine we are having today.

Our 2nd session of Bible Study started this morning and it was good to get back. Yesterday it was dry for a lot of the day so I got outside and did some much needed pruning. There still is a lot more pruning to accomplish but I feel good about what did get done. I had to stop when I lost the grip in my hand from cutting up all those branches.

So my siblings and I are looking into sending our parents on a cruise to Alaska. My mom let it out of the bag that she would really like to try a cruise. My dad let it out of the bag that he’d like to see glaciers. We are going back and forth on this. My parents are 88ish and will be 89ish soon. My mom has been using a walker to get around. Have any of you gone on an Alaskan cruise and what are your thoughts? I hear there are lots of mosquitoes in Alaska in the summer. Was that the case on the ship, too, when you reached Alaska? What happens at the ports? Is there good transportation to sights on land? Thank you in advance for your input.

I decided to add here that we are looking at a Charles Stanley Cruise in mid July. It would be right up my parents alley with Christian speakers and singing groups. Kind of like a Christian family camp atmosphere.

Transitions in Mosaics…

We are in transition mode around this old house. One project seems to lead to another.

Although that tower CD holder held all our CD’s it was very hard to find the right CD looking sideways and very difficult for my failing close up reading abilities to read the titles of the CD’s on the bottom of the tower. Since we have room under the hearth we decided to go with these baskets to hold the CD’s. I can pull the baskets out and easily read the titles. Before Katie moved to North Carolina she alphabetized the CD’s in the tower by artist. I kept them that way when I switched them to the baskets.

I first put them in the center together but found out that this area gets warm from the fireplace so I put them on opposite sides. I also re-arranged the floral containers. I’m happy with these changes for now.

Soon I’ll be able to show you the redecorated Guest Room #2. Dear and our son Josh picked up new mattresses on Saturday and Laura and I put the bed linens on the bed. This was the first bed set Dear and I bought ourselves way back in the 70’s. We pulled out Katie’s old metal bunk bed and replaced it with our Queen Anne 4 poster bed. Stay tuned for the whole transition in the near future.

I’m also in process of creating a tablescape. These goblets are an odd shade of green/blue and I haven’t found the right fit for them on a table until yesterday. I’ll come up with the rest of the setting for later in the week.

We had a good productive weekend. Our pastor started a new series of messages today called “Desperate Days”. Judging from today’s message we are going to learn a lot.  Hope you are all doing well.

Linking up with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

A Year of Precious Blessings ~ Hymn

A Year of Precious Blessings

A year of precious blessings
And glorious victories won,
Of earnest work progressing,
Its onward course has run;
To Thee, O God, our refuge,
Whose goodness crowns our days,
Within Thy earthly temple,
We lift our souls in praise;
Within Thy earthly temple,
We lift our souls in praise.

Thou master of assemblies
In mighty power descend,
Behold our glad reunion,
Conduct it to the end;
Inspire our hearts with courage
And deeper love for Thee,
That all, Thy name may honor,
Where’er our field may be,
That all, Thy name may honor,
Where’er our field may be.

O Church of God’s anointed,
March on the world to win,
Lead forth thy ranks by millions
Against the hosts of sin,
Till at His throne in glory,
Where angels prostrate fall,
One hallelujah chorus
Shall crown Him Lord of all,
One hallelujah chorus
Shall crown Him Lord of all.

Words: Fanny Crosby

FFF ~ Back To It!

I’ve been away for awhile but it’s time again to get back to Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. It’s always good to look back and see the good things in your life.

1. It was good to get back to somewhat of a routine.

2. Dear and I rearranged some furniture and are enjoying a “new look”.

3. In the process of rearranging we purged some items that we don’t need and just got in the way. January is a great month to purge. Hopefully I can purge some of those holiday pounds, too.

4. We have enjoyed some wonderful sunrises.

5. Phone conversations with my daughter and daughter in law.

It’s January and for us we are still in celebration mode as both our sons were born in January. We are already looking forward to a birthday meal together. How’s January going for you?

G is for Grumpy!

It’s time for the letter G and time for me to remind myself not to be grumpy and not to grumble. Head on over to Miss Jenny’s to join in with Alphabe-Thursday.

John 6:43 ~  ”Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.

I Corinthians 10:10 ~ “And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.”

James 5:9 ~ “Don’t grumble against each other brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door.”

I Peter 4:9 ~ “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Maybe I’ll think ahead to next week and the letter H and be inspired by another Dwarf…Happy! Since we are still on G this week I’m going to concentrate on being grateful instead of grumpy.

The New Look…

…in our Living Room and entry area. Since I’m not showing you before photos you are just going to have to trust me that we moved some pieces around. Katie will be able to tell the difference from North Carolina!

We moved the piano next to the bookcases and under our old mirror.

The piano used to be where that library table with photographs on top is now. That antique white cabinet was not in that corner before. It used to be where this painting is in the area between the kitchen entry and Katie’s room.

As you can see our stuff is a mish mosh of styles and colors. We’ve been talking about staining this cabinet for years and always wondered why Dear’s dad antiqued it white.

We took a big heavy T.V. off this sofa table to Goodwill on Monday. Boy was it hard to get it into the car. I’m pleased to have it gone. It used to sit where the stereo equipment is now. I’m going to work on something to cover up the cords, etc. I can see that we’ll need to lower that painting a bit now that the T.V. is gone.

It would be nice if the white antique cabinet matched the secretary on the other side of the sofa.

Katie’s door is shut because that’s the room we are now working on to convert it into a second guest room. It will be after the wedding that the room will be ready because there are pieces of Katie’s furniture that she and Andrew hope to haul across the country. It is also on the master list to replace all the flooring in this old house. We are planning on wood floors in the entry, hall, and kitchen. We will re- install carpeting in the actual living room area. We’ve learned over the last several years what areas are heavy traffic and dirt areas so that’s where the wood floors will go.

Here’s our decorating downfall secret…we don’t decorate from scratch. I don’t think we’ve ever decorated a room from scratch. We’ve always had “hand me downs” that we’ve worked around. It really is a stretch to call it decorating. But it’s always been comfortable for us. Eclectic or Mama’s old stuff is another label you can put on it. For the record, I’m not complaining, I’m happy in our space. I hope you are comfortable in your space, too.

We are pleased with the changes we’ve made and feel it has really opened up the space.

Celtic Prayer

Lord of my heart, give me vision to inspire me, that, working or resting, I may always think of you.
Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me, that, at home or abroad, I may always walk with you.
Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me, that, thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.
Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that, amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.
Lord of my heart, give me trust to console me, that, hungry or well-fed, I may always rely on your mercy.
Lord of my heart, save me from empty praise, that I may always boast of you.
Lord of my heart, save me from worldly wealth, that I may always look to the riches of heaven.
Lord of my heart, save me from military prowess, that I may always seek your protection.
Lord of my heart, save me from vain knowledge, that I may always study your word.
Lord of my heart, Save me from unnatural pleasures, that I may always find joy in your wonderful creation.
Lord of my heart, whatever may befall me, rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and action.

I thought this was a good prayer to start the New Year off with.

Hope you all had a safe and satisfying year end. I’ll be taking some photos of our accomplishments over the past several days. I’m kicking myself for forgetting the before shots. What kind of blogger am I? Possibly a tired one. We are in the process of transforming daughter’s room to guest room #2. Since all our kids have left the nest we figure it’s good to have a place for them to nest for the night when they come to visit. We also moved several large pieces of furniture around to make things more open. Yikes, we moved the piano. We took out some very large speakers (which son #2 has claimed) and replaced them with smaller ones that fit our smaller spaces. We’ll be picking up some new queen sized mattresses later this week and when I have the new bed made I’ll take photos and show you all the changes. We tidied up the yard and the garage, too. We did all this before Monday! So glad Dear has another day at home so he can recover before he’s back to work. Today I’m going to watch the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game and sneak a trip in to Goodwill to take all the stuff we sorted out..

So what have y’all be doing?

Happy New Year!

Considering the old and looking forward to the new, that’s how I’m ringing in the new year! I’m posting my Happy New Year greetings early and will see you all again in 2012!

Highlights of 2011!

Our son Josh opened his own Mortgage Office with his parent company in January and had an open house in February.

Katie and Andrew got married on March 11th in North Carolina before the Magistrate.

My 60th birthday celebrations in March were amazing with several well orchestrated surprises. I’ll never forget the fun and love I was showered with.

We had our first Sisters Weekend trip to Victoria, B.C. in April and we got to meet my new bloggy friend Pondside who treated us to a great tour of her island.

Our cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook was published in May. We had a celebration dinner at Lovella’s and book signings at Lepp Farm Market and Winks. I am so thankful that God brought these beautiful ladies into my life through blogging. Wow! Who could have foreseen this blessing…

Katie traveled to Florida to spend several days with Andrew before he was deployed to Afghanistan with the Marines later in May.

I traveled to Washington D.C. in May with Dear on a business trip and enjoyed seeing so many wonderful historical sites.

In June I started to get serious about dropping some weight so I’d be a happier person when shopping for the Mother of the Bride dress.

We got to meet another bloggy friend in July when Jill came to stay with us and Katie, Jill and I traveled to the Lavender festival in Sequim.

Katie and I traveled to Southern California the end of July and had many fun times with our extended family, including a Bridal shower for Katie.

In August Josh and Laura celebrated their 10 year anniversary in Hawaii with my niece and her husband who also were married in 2001.

In late August Dear and I spent a couple days in Oregon traveling along the coast and inland visiting Multnomah Falls. We stayed at Salishan Spa and  Bonneville Hot Springs.

Dan had the fun privilege of learning all about horses and horse back riding this summer. No surprise the horses really take to him. He even road a horse in his hometown parade.

In September we finally found our new church home and have been settling in at Northshore Baptist Church.

October was a very busy month with travels to Canada at the beginning of the month and the end of the month for book signings and cooking demonstrations at the Women’s show. I also traveled to Sacramento for a dear friends funeral.

In October we had the menu tasting for Katie and Andrew’s wedding. That was a very fun appointment tasting so many yummy dishes.

From March until October we enjoyed our season tickets for the Sounder’s Soccer Team! Another successful season, winning U.S. Cup for the 3rd time.

In November we had a Northwest Bridal Shower for Katie. It was so much fun to have so many old friends together again.

 Thanksgiving came early for our immediate family with everyone here but Andrew.

Our very first and oldest niece had her first little baby, a girl, in November! A miracle and a great joy!

We traveled with Katie to North Carolina to get her settled into her and Andrew’s military housing in early December.

Andrew arrived safely home from his deployment in Afghanistan on Christmas morning.

God filled our cups in 2011!

What I am looking forward to in 2012!

Celebrating Josh and Dan’s birthdays in January.

Gatherings with the Mennonite Girls in the New Year.

Meeting our new Grand Niece.

Katie and Andrew’s wedding on their one year anniversary in Seattle in March.

Our nephew Levi’s and Kristin’s wedding in May in Southern California.

A new roof on this old house.

Being open to any new adventures and lessons God has in store for us.

Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Psalm 34:8 ~The Message (MSG)

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

Blessings on you in 2012!