Category Archives: Birthday

Birthday Week Favorites

My Birthday celebration started early with a Mexican meal on Tuesday that Dan, Jamie, Addy, Linda, Scott and Rhonda were a part of. It was a good time and Jamie brought a special dessert for each of us in little canning jars, blueberry cobbler. Linda is our DIL Jamie’s mother and Scott is Jamie’s Uncle and Rhonda is Scott’s wife and we are all huge fans of Addy.

On my actual birthday morning our dear daughter-in-law brought Addy by with a bouquet of flowers for me. This was such a sweet surprise and I’m so thankful Jamie took a photo of her at the front door before I opened the door with my robe on and wet hair! Addy wasn’t sure about me with wet hair and my glasses off but warmed up when she realized that scary figure was in fact her Baba!

Besides my morning cup of coffee, on my birthday Dear made me his famous Swedish Pancakes with side eggs in between his work obligations. Perks of working from home.

Phone calls and text messages from kids and family and Facebook good wishes were fun to receive and read through the day.

After Dear’s work was done we went into town to run errands and decided to try Chateau Vin, a new spot to us, for early dinner which is not new to us. It was good and we would take any wine enthusiasts there when they visit. We I have a goal of trying every eatery in our area. We’ve tried most already. It’s not a hard goal since our community and the others around us are small. Many of the establishments are closed on Sunday and Monday. Some are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Only a handful are open every day. The only national chains in our town are McDonald’s, Subway, Taco Bell, and KFC. Local chains are Zip’s, Taco Time, and Westside Pizza.

I’m retired and how to use my daily awake hours are mostly up to my discretion. I’m settling in to really enjoy my morning time reading the Bible and some devotionals and books before I continue on with the busyness of the day. In the recent past I lapsed horribly in this good endeavor. Currently I’m on a 5 day a week plan on reading the Bible through in a year. I read my Spurgeon yearly devotional which I’m happy to reread each year. I’ve added Piper’s Taste and See for the first part of the year. Then my two current books, not devotionals, that I try to read a chapter from each morning are Begg’s, Pathway to Freedom, and MacArthur’s, The Gospel According to Jesus. Dear already read these books so we can discuss what we read. I’ve gained from this discipline in my life for sure and it’s not just a discipline but it is worship and it is good even if I don’t “feel” something at the moment. The Holy Spirit uses what gets into my brain and heart and brings it back to me at interesting times, like 2 a.m. in the morning. The key for me is that I don’t turn on my computer until I’m done with this morning time.

My morning view.

Joining Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday’s Fave Five.

Dear and I are driving south to Spokane today to have a birthday dinner at Churchhill’s Steakhouse. I won’t be around to visit until tomorrow since driving into Spokane is a several hour event for us. Ninety minutes to get there and then we have to shop at some of our favorites that we don’t have in Colville, dinner, and then ninety minutes to get home.

Enjoy your Friday!

Thoughtful Thursday

Happy Birthday to Me…

This is a side by side photo of me on my seventh birthday and me in June of 2009 when I was 58. Today is my birthday and I am 10 years older now from when the photo on the right was taken. I’ve been celebrated well and the celebrations will continue throughout today and again tomorrow. I’ve received gifts, too. Dinner out with a special dessert from our kids here in Colville. A wall plaque I’ll share at the end of the post from Josh and Laura. Katie and Andrew sent rechargeable hand warmers which will come in handy for our winters here. Birthday greetings are chiming away in the form of texts from our kids and extended family.

I’m sharing this devotional I read this morning for March 14 from Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith Daily Readings by C.H. Spurgeon. It touched my heart so…

‘As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you’ (Isaiah 66:13)

A mother’s comfort! Ah, this is tenderness itself. How she enters into her child’s grief! How she presses him to her bosom, and tries to take all his sorrow into her own heart! He can tell her all, and she will sympathize as nobody else can. Of all comforters the child loves best his mother, and even full-grown men have found it so.

Does Jehovah condescend to act the mother’s part? This is goodness indeed. We readily perceive how he is a father; but will he be as a mother also? Does not this invite us to holy familiarity, to unreserved confidence, to sacred rest? When God himself becomes ‘the Comforter’ no anguish can long abide. Let us tell out our trouble, even though sobs and sighs should become readiest utterance. He will not despise us for our tears; our mother did not. He will consider our weakness as she did, and he will put away our faults, only in a surer, safer way than our mother could do. We will not try to bear our grief alone: that would be unkind to one so gentle and so kind. Let us begin the day with our loving God, and wherefore should we not finish it in the same company, since mothers weary not of their children?

My kids know I appreciate Charles Spurgeon!

For those of you out there who are as old as I am, do you remember the song by Leslie Gore with this proclamation, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to”? Well I’m changing it to…

“It’s my birthday and I’ll share what I want to, share what I want to, share what I want to. You would share too if good happened to you!”

God has been good to me all my 68 years and I bow the knee in accepting all he has done to me. Many things that did not look good on the surface have worked to draw me to Him, to the True Center. I know life is not and will not always be smooth but I know I will not be left to deal with whatever comes my way alone.

There Is A Redeemer ~ Words and Music by Melody Green

There is a Redeemer
Jesus, God’s own Son
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
Holy One

Jesus my Redeemer
Name above all names
Precious Lamb of God, Messiah
O for sinners slain

(Chorus)
Thank You oh my Father
For giving us Your Son
And leaving Your Spirit
Til the work on earth is done

When I stand in glory
I will see His face
And there I’ll serve my King forever
In that holy place

Thank you for all who come here to my blog and read and bear with me. I appreciate you all and I hope in some way that I can be an encouragement to you as you walk on this earth. Only because of what Christ has done…

January Recap in Mosaics

January was packed with important celebrations and family time. I’m adding some photos and mosaics here for the sake of my memories that might be redundant to you. I’ll be linking up with Angie for Mosaic Monday. Thanks for hosting, Angie. Be forewarned that this post is overloaded with photos.

We celebrated three family birthdays in January. Dan and Jamie both had birthdays a day apart and we enjoyed dinner at our country bungalow in celebration of their birthdays.

Our oldest had a milestone birthday and his office celebrated him well along with other family and friends on the west side of the Cascades. We gave him his gifts early at Christmas and added a gift when we all gathered in Arizona 5 days after his birthday.

We handed down grandfather Rex’s Bible to Josh while we were in Arizona.

Thursday January 24th was travel day to Arizona for most of us. Josh and Laura were at the house already working nonstop to furnish it for our arrival. Friday started with some work on putting furniture together and then was Zoo/Old Town Scottsdale day. Saturday was shopping/work day, cousin/nephew-niece dinner. We broke in the new barbecue. Sunday was staging/photo and lunch/park and puzzle day. Josh and Laura flew home on Sunday. Monday morning Katie and Andrew flew home and then Addy’s Great Granny and Jim drove up to have lunch with us. (Photo Fail) They are snow birding in Arizona until March. Tuesday was our travel day flying back to our snow covered world.

8 adults to 1 child at the park. I don’t know how one person can manage a child in a busy park!

We were all happy to get a good dose of Vitamin D.

And the contrast of what we returned home to…

Our kids on the westside returned home to this…

Helping one another get Andrew and Katie’s home ready to move into.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (ESV)

Click on  Airbnb to see the listing for this beautiful property in Surprise, Arizona. We highly recommend it.

Today we still have snow on the ground and are getting a weather warning for very cold temperatures overnight. The sun is breaking through the clouds. The Puget Sound area of Washington got a good snowfall overnight. Our kids on the west side of the mountains measured 7 inches this morning which means everything will come to a stand still in the Seattle area. Katie and Andrew moved into their new home over the weekend just in time to be snowed in. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

 

January Birthdays

Jamie and Dan both had birthdays this week so we planned a dinner party. Happiest of birthdays to you Dan and Jamie. It’s going to be another landmark year in your lives as parents!

Jamie loves cobalt blue so I set the table with blues and since it’s winter I added snowflakes and sparkles.

Photos taken with different light in the morning and evening.

The birthday boy, birthday girl and Addy along with Jamie’s aunt, uncle and mother.

Addy loves and is loved by all these guests.

Addy is getting to be a pro at getting on and off Maverick!

Our firstborn son’s birthday is tomorrow. It’s a landmark one. Where did all those years go.

Happiest of birthdays to you, Josh! Glad we could spend time with you last weekend and that we’ll all be together again the last weekend in January!

She’s One of a Kind…

…and we are all happy to celebrate what she means to our families.

The collage above is of Laura’s family and our family getting together or sending greetings across the miles to wish her a very Happy Birthday. We thank God a lot that he brought our son and Laura together.

Before we headed back across the mountains for home we were able to gather with our westside kids and have a dinner in honor of Laura. We headed back to Josh and Laura’s after dinner to enjoy a pie I brought home from our Mennonite Girls Can Cook party the night before.

I’ll share more about this pie and how it made it across the line with me when I put together my MGCC party post.

We love you, Laura.

The Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace!

Today is Dear and my 44th wedding anniversary. We’re celebrating in a new locale and 1300 miles from where our journey began all those years ago.

He’s still the only guy for me then and forever.

Moisi and Anna

Brother and sister, 95 and 93. The last two siblings alive. The next generations gathered to celebrate our pop’s 95th birthday. He is struggling physically and emotionally. He is tired and ready to go “Home”. Aunt Anna turned 93 in April and is doing well. It’s fun to see the two of them together and the comfortable love between them.

Josh and Laura shared their travel miles with me and the three of us flew down to Southern California on Saturday evening. On Sunday we packed in all the hours of the day with as many gatherings with our southern California family.

Aunt Anna had just become a great great grandmother the day before our gathering and she was keen to show us the photo of her great granddaughter who just became a mother.

Four out of eight of Moisi’s children could be at the party on Sunday. Aunt Anna had three children but she has survived all of them including one granddaughter. She is living with one of her granddaughter’s which has been a blessing for her.

Several grandchildren and great grandchildren gathered. It was good to catch up with one another.

We sang “How Great Thou Art” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and then it was time for cake.

Kathy was determined to fit all 95 candles on the cake and she succeeded with help.

My sister Vera carried the cake in and her daughter was just behind ready to rescue the cake if need be.

My sister in law, Letty, who is a Hospice nurse thankfully had the presence of mind to turn off our pop’s oxygen before that fiery cake reached him. Yikes!

Pop had some help to blow out those candles. Our pop’s favorite is cherry pie but the candles would not fit on a cherry pie.

Oxygen back on now that all the candles were blown out! We served the cake to everyone and cut a piece of the cherry pie for pop. He had it ala mode and enjoyed every bite and by then was ready to head for his hospital bed in his room.

Cousins, our daughter-in-law and nieces.

We flew home on Memorial Day to a meal prepared by Dear for all of us. Soon I’ll share our time with my nephew and niece in Newport Beach. Hope you all have a good week.