Saturday the 29th of November we shopped small on Main street in Colville.
While we shopped the guys entertained themselves with chopping a lot of wood and then enjoyed table games.
Plans were afoot on this day to celebrate Auntie Lolo’s birthday early since we wouldn’t be together for her actual birthday on December 3rd. The birthday theme was lemon/lemons, a favorite flavor for Laura.
Jamie embroidered this special sweatshirt for Laura with her beloved title, Auntie Lolo! Addy and JJ helped with some of the embroidery.
Laura looked at this purse while we were shopping and she admired it enough that Katie snuck it up to the register to purchase it for Laura’s birthday gift. I didn’t take a photo of the solar decorative hummingbird lights that we gave her for their outdoor patio.
Lemon and pistachio Macarons that our son Dan made were the ‘birthday cake’. Dan has mastered the art of making them!
There is a back story to this drink that Katie had never tasted. While the guys were at the grocery store Andrew found it for her to try.
More Skyjo rounds commenced. The younger ones among us stayed at Bayles Mountain well into the evening while Gramps and Baba headed home.
Sunday morning most of us were in church together filling out a row.
Before the last of the Westsiders left for home after church there was some fun in the snow to document.
Another full and thankful time was spent over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Our focus shifts now to preparations for Christmas.
Hello December! Before we go full speed ahead we’ll catch up with our long Thanksgiving weekend festivities!
Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we had a quiet start to the day as we waited for Andrew and Katie to arrive. Our Thanksgiving meal was slated for 5pm at our Colville kids’ home. Our only responsibility was making sweet potatoes with marshmallows toasted on top. Katie and Andrew arrived safely mid afternoon. We drove together to Bayles Mountain for our Thanksgiving meal.
What fun to get photos from both sides of the mountain and see that both of our sons decided to try to spatchcock a turkey this year. On this side of the mountains besides the spatchcock, Dan and Jamie cooked a traditional turkey with stuffing. Spatchcock was a huge success. Another favorite this year was Jamie’s homemade cranberry sauce with added raspberry, so delicious!
Addy and JJ both enjoyed having Andrew and Katie to help them with some projects while we waited for our meal.
Friday morning dawned beautifully as we waited to hear that Josh and Laura were on the road to our home.
We got the ‘on the road selfie’ and we counted down the hours for their arrival.
JJ was pleased to see they brought the vintage G.I. Joe sleeping bag from the 80’s!
Very few photos were taken on Friday. Gramps made his tomato rice soup for us to enjoy and we added BLT’s to the menu.
After dinner we enjoyed some rounds of Skyjo.
Saturday morning found us eating together again!
Greg was on cooking duty again for his Swedish Pancakes and we all love to gather to eat them!
The agenda for Saturday included shopping ‘small business’ for the girls and for the guys chopping wood and preparing for Saturday meals including a birthday celebration for Auntie Lolo!
More about Saturday will come in a separate post.
Our Westside kids made it home safely on Sunday and we are thankful always for traveling mercies!
December is coming in hot with something on the calendar for each day this week! Whew! I’m going to have to be intentional about pausing in the midst of this busy schedule to enjoy this Advent season.
When shades of night around us close,
And weary limbs in sleep repose,
The faithful soul awake may be,
And longing sigh, O Lord, to Thee.
Thou true Desire of nations, hear,
Thou Word of God, Thou Savior dear;
In pity heed our humble cries,
And bid at length the fallen rise.
O come, Redeemer, come and free
Thine own from guilt and misery;
The gates of Heav’n again unfold,
Which Adam’s sin had closed of old.
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.
Words: Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (In noctis umbrâ desides); translated from Latin to English by the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1861.
We are in the midst of our Thanksgiving family time here in Colville. This post was prepared ahead of time to publish until I gather the current family photos from activities we are enjoying in real time.
A ‘before’ photo of the queen size bed and accessories in the ‘Blue Room’. We sold this bed complete to my cousin who lives here in Colville.
We have two guest bedrooms in our Country Bungalow. We call this room the ‘Blue Room’. The other guest room we call the ‘Play Room’ because that is where any toys and books are stored for our Grands.
The Blue room was ready for an upgrade with a new king bed set-up. It was fun to pick wall art and linens for a new look. Most of the wall art came from Hobby Lobby on a week when they were all 50% off. It wasn’t as much fun for Greg to assemble the platform for the mattress. It also was a complete clown-show for Greg and me when we took off the wrapping on the mattress that came in a box, rolled up tight. It pretty much explodes into it’s flat king size shape. We were tossed about until we gained control of it and slid it on to it’s platform! Whew!
Andrew and Katie arrived here on Thanksgiving and got to enjoy the ‘new look’.
Here’s a recent photo of Katie with her latest hair coloring. By now we have taken many family photos while celebrating the Thanksgiving extended weekend together. I’ll be sharing those soon.
And in other news we had our first wee snowfall of the season.
We hired a couple of young men from our church to come and clear our planters for winter. Little did we know when we scheduled that we’d have snow to deal with. Thankfully it was just an inch of snow that melted quickly. The guys persevered with freezing fingers and did a great job for us. I’m so thankful to have this task behind us in time for Winter.
On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
1 Corinthians 1:4-9
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
From Dianna:
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name;
Make known His name among the peoples. ”
1 Chronicles 16:8
From Vera:
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
Psalm 9:1-2 ESV
From Willow:
Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1. Do you feel like you have a ‘full plate’ at the moment? In what way?
Yes, yes I do have a full plate at the moment. The calendar is as full as can be with Thanksgiving festivities, both spare bedrooms full for a few days. Monday after Thanksgiving ladies ministry meeting plus decorating our church for Christmas. Tuesday escape to Idaho for an overnight to celebrate our 51st wedding anniversary (December 6th is the actual day). Ladies Christmas party on Friday the 5th. I’ll fit in some Christmas decorating, too.
2. How did you learn to cook? If you have children did you teach or encourage them to cook? Do you like to follow a recipe or is your cooking style more ‘let’s wing it’.
Mostly I learned the basics in my Home Economics classes. I didn’t cook with my mother growing up. My learning was hands on after I got married and it became my responsibility. My kids have the skills on their own initiative. Our sons are both good cooks. Our daughter can tackle any recipe. We modeled openness to invite people over to share a meal and our kids picked up on that. I follow recipes for baking but wing it a lot for spur of the moment meals.
3. Last time you bit off more than you could chew? Elaborate.
Winterizing our property, namely the planters, this is more than I can chew. I’m hoping to bring in some help to complete this task. It’s more than my back can handle.
4. When did you last say ‘the more the merrier’ and mean it?
Anytime my kids or family or friends want to travel to spend time with us I feel like the more the merrier.
5. Write an acrostic using the word T-H-A-N-K-S.
Thank you, LORD God
Hope of Heaven
Acceptance you give me in Jesus
Nothing to doubt
King Jesus my Savior
Salvation assured
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Last Saturday we attended JJ’s promotion at Taekwondo. He did very well and received his Tiger Badge.
He answered all the questions the Grand Master asked of him. One of the Tiny Tiger Creeds is “Tiny Tigers will obey their parents”. The Grand Master asked JJ why he should obey his parents and JJ answered, “because it is written in the Bible, Sir!” Well said, JJ!
Later on this day our Colville kids enjoyed their yearly tradition of a Christmas lights boat cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Thank you to all who stop by here. I’m thankful for visitors to my blog and fellow bloggers!
On Friday November 21st, I joined three ladies from our church for a trip to Spokane to hear Handel’s Messiah performed by Spokane Symphony and Chorale. The Performance by the orchestra and chorale was hosted by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
Handel’s Messiah is an oratorio that tells the story of Jesus Christ through three parts: his birth and miracles, his passion and death, and his final glorification in heaven. Composed rapidly in 24 days by George Frideric Handel in 1741, the work uses verses from the King James Bible. Charles Jennens wrote the libretto, or text, (not Handel) comprising passages from the Bible. It premiered in Dublin in 1742 as a benefit concert and has since become a holiday staple known for its religious narrative and powerful choruses, like the famous “Hallelujah” chorus.
Messiah was originally conceived as a work for Easter, and its world premiere was given during Lent.
In July of 1741, Charles Jennens, who had written the libretti for two of Handel’s oratorios wrote the following in a letter to a friend–the earliest mention of Messiah:
“Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope that I shall persuade to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own Benefit in Passion week. I hope that he will lay out his whole Genius and Skill upon it, that the Composition may excell all his former Compositions, as the Subject excells every other Subject. The Subject is Messiah…”Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.”
We found our general admission seats and then we wandered about the cathedral which included climbing the spiral staircase to the gallery below the Rose window and some of the pipes of the organ.
While Messiah is a large-scale oratorio that takes almost 3 hours to perform in its entirety, it is not Handel’s longest work.
Few masterworks of Baroque music can rival Handel’s Messiah for its eternal popularity.
The U.S. premiere of the complete Messiah was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society on Christmas Day in 1818 at Boylston Hall in Boston.
I’m adding a couple YouTube videos to give you a hint of what we heard.
No. 17. Chorus: Glory to God
The presentation we enjoyed did not perform all 53 movements in the original Messiah but performed 45 of the 53. The Hallelujah Chorus is movement #44.
The performance on Friday did end with the last movement, No. 53 Chorus: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. Amen. [Revelation 5:12, 13]
It was a grand location to enjoy this God honoring, Christ proclaiming Oratorio. Hallelujah to our Risen Savior!
I was thankful that Bethany drove for the majority of miles and that I only had about 5 miles to drive home at the end of our evening. I pulled into our garage at midnight! That is late for me.
I’m going to catch up with posting some quotes that spoke to me and I’ve written down in my journal over the last several months. Putting them here will help me find them easier.
The photos that I’m interspersing with them came from our drive to and from Spokane on Wednesday the 19th of November, 2025.
The first quotes are from notes in my Church History Study Bible related to Psalm 81 and 82 and 93.
“There is unconquerable opposition between us and God. Without a mediator there can be no communion with him.” Blaise Pascal
“Where ignorance reigns in the mind, there is confusion in the heart and life.” Thomas Boston
“There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who see knowledge in order to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love.” Bernard of Clairvaux, On Loving God.
” The time will come when all races of men shall own their God and accept him as their king. There is one who is King by right divine, and he is even now on his way. The last days shall see him enthroned, and all unrighteous potentates broken like potters’ vessels by his potent sceptor. The second advent is still earth’s brightest hope. Come quickly, even so, come Lord Jesus.” Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David.
“May the Lord appear in his church, in our day in manifest majesty and might, saving sinners, slaying errors, and honoring his own name.” Spurgeon
“The only reason God is our Savior is that he is merciful.” John Calvin
Psalm 93:1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.
“Faith is not just an exercise of the mind. It is a commitment of the heart that fundamentally changes the way you live your life.” Paul Tripp
“You may begin anywhere in the Bible and preach Jesus. You may begin at the first chapter of Genesis, or at the last chapter of Malachi, at the first of Matthew or the last of Revelation, and still preach Jesus, for he is the sum and substance of the whole Scripture.” Charles Spurgeon
“God is to be praised because he has not based his covenant of the forgiveness of sin on our merit but on his Word, and because he commands that it will stand firm and eternal, not falling when we sin, nor becoming valid only when we are godly.” Martin Luther
Today is Saturday before our Thanksgiving week here in the USA begins. This is a very busy weekend. Last night I attended The Messiah at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane with three friends. Today we have 2 events at church to meet and learn more about a Pastoral Candidate and his family. Besides church on Sunday morning we have a Pie and Praise event Sunday night and I’m in charge of getting the pies out for everyone to enjoy. Whew! After Sunday we’ll have a few free days until it is full speed ahead with Thanksgiving Day and a house full here Thursday through Sunday. Life is rich!
On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.
The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you!
Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 8:1-4
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
From Vera:
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.””
Jeremiah 9:23-24
From Dianna:
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 