Category Archives: Birthday

Belated Birthday Celebration

We enjoyed a belated birthday dinner and overnight in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Wednesday September 30th. We strolled along Sherman Ave. before our dinner reservation at 4:00.

Our kids gifted us a certificate to eat at Tony’s on the Lake, an Italian restaurant across from Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Filet for Dear and Osso Buco for me and it was oh so good.

We stayed the night at Blackwell Hotel, An old grand house turned into a Boutique Hotel. It is right on Sherman Ave. It has all the creaks and wood banisters to prove it’s old.

When we checked out of this hotel we headed north just a bit to stay in an RV park that my brother’s family rolled into on October 1st. We spent the night and then all of us headed to our country bungalow on Friday. More tales to come.

Celebrating Gramps!

On the morning of Dear’s birthday September 9th our Daughter in law sent a text with these photos of Addy, JJ, and Rayna wishing Gramps a Happy Birthday. Love that Addy is singing in the first photo.

We were invited for dinner at their home on the day and enjoyed Lengua Tacos. Delicious. It wasn’t easy capturing a photo of the three of them.

The day after Dear’s birthday we headed to Chewelah for Mexican and we were treated royally by our favorite waiter.

On 9/11 this was the view of the horrible air quality in Seattle taken by one of the news agencies. Can you find the Space Needle? Our air quality in Northeastern Washington isn’t good either but it is not this bad…yet. They say we are in for the smoke coming our way from California and Oregon. We are all praying the the fires (so many of them) can be extinguished and that we can get some precipitation to clean the air. The West Coast is burning. Good time to consider your eternal destiny.

This morning Dan and the Grands are coming over. Dan will be helping Dear prepare the shop pad for the cement pour by laying the vapor barrier and the re-bar. I’ll be watching Addy and JJ while that work happens.

My Favorite Laborer

Time for Wednesday Hodgepodge where Jo asks the questions and we answer them.

1. Something you’ve done in recent days or months that might be described as a labor of love?

I think my labor of love these days is watching and running after our dear grandchildren.

2. Last time you ‘worked your fingers to the bone’?

The latest is transplanting some peony plants and weeding. My fingers get numb after a while.

3. According to a recent survey people named the following ten jobs as the hardest-nurse, doctor, paramedic, police officer, firefighter, surgeon, healthcare worker, bomb squad, farmer, and prison warden. Of the jobs listed which would you say is the hardest? The one you’d most like to do? Least like to do? What’s one job you would add to the list?

Honestly…I wouldn’t want to do any of these jobs but I’ll play along. The hardest right now is being a Police Officer. The everyday stuff they have to deal with is unbelievable and now they are being attacked by those they are charged to protect. The one I’d most like to do is none of them. The least I’d like to do is farmer because I think a farmer’s work is never done. The one hard job I’d add to the list is being a Pastor.

4. A recipe you make that is labor intensive, but worth it?

I have a easy stroganoff recipe that I can make in a pinch but my Sirloin Stroganoff with buttered noodles is a cut above and worth the extra effort!

5. Last job you did or task you completed that required teamwork?

This past Sunday we had some ladies over after church for brunch. Dear was in charge of the Swedish pancakes and I managed the sides, setting the table, making coffee, etc. Whenever we have company we work as a team to get-er-done.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Today is Dear’s birthday. This guy understands hard work and doesn’t shy away from it. God was good to me when He brought us together. 

Happy Birthday Dear!

I appreciate your integrity, work ethic, love for God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your faithfulness to me and our marriage. Your steadfastness in the Truth makes today and the future peaceful and joyful. May God continue to build you up!

Colossians 2:6: Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

This photo is from birthday brunch a few years ago at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle. Tonight our kids in Colville invited us over to celebrate.

Tomorrow I’m starting a new challenge on my blog which will be a recurring event each Thursday. We will be sharing verses through the alphabet. Tomorrow is the letter A and we’ll be sharing a verse or verses with a key word starting with the letter A at the beginning of the verse or within the verse. More explanation HERE. Join us if you can.

Glory

Glory is the word for the 11th of August.

I’ll need to share this whole rich paragraph from Colossians with glory being the last word.

Colossians 3:1-4

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Share your verses in the comments or on your blog and I’ll add them here.

From Maristella:

 “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Romans 5:3-4 | NIV.

From Linda P. :

Glory: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Amen. Philippians 2. 10-11

From my sister Vera:

“Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty— he is the King of glory.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭24:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From Pattystitch:

Galatians 6:14 God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Happy One posted this verse on her blog, Life is Good.

John 11:40  KJV

Jesus saith unto her,
Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe,
thou shouldest see the GLORY of God?

On Sunday we attended a birthday party for our grands’ other granny, Linda. We were greeted with a very excited little 3 year old who wanted to…

…sell us some lemonade or Iced Tea from her stand. 5 cents per cup, what a bargain. She was hilarious and very careful when she poured for each person. She filled Granny Great’s cup half full and Granny said “Is that all I get?” and Addy responded, “that’s enough”. It worked out financially for Addy that most of the adults did not have any loose change so she got a $5 bill and several $1 bills.

You should never leave your stand unattended especially when you have a baby brother!

We had a delicious dinner on the deck.

Linda is on the left with the cup up to her mouth. Happy Birthday Linda! Her friend Jo is next to her. Granny Great and Great Grandpa Jim, Aunt Rhonda, and Uncle Scott with Dan and Addy way in the back.

Jamie and Gramps got into this photo.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Lumberjack Take Two!

For the summer lumberjack redo party the sleeves were cut off the flannel shirts. Jaymison Joshua turned one on April 16th right in the middle of COVID-19’s isolation restrictions. On Sunday since the family were all together in Colville a party redo was scheduled for JJ. We had Addy’s on the day before. For Addy’s party we were served lunch and for JJ’s party we were served brunch.

Jaymison warms up slowly to people he doesn’t see often so Katie and Andrew had their work cut out for them to win him over.

Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo have been able to travel more and spend enough time with Jaymison so he is more comfortable with them.

Granny Great, Mommy, JJ, and Granny, four generations on Jamie’s side of the family.

Great Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda have not been able to be around enough for JJ to be on his best behavior with them. We called in the stabilizer…mommy for the next photo.

Baba and Gramps enjoy seeing our little lumberjack as much as possible. It’s been so good to live in the same town!

Jaymison loves music, singing and dancing so he was very engaged and moving back and forth while we all sang Happy Birthday to him!

For Jaymison’s re-do party his parents served brunch with pancakes, waffles, bacon, little smokies, and his Granny and Addy made a pull apart Monkey Bread for his birthday cake.

Jaymison loves anything with long handles like brooms and mops so Gramps and Baba bought him some garden tools and he’s enjoyed them.

While he wasn’t using them this boat crew used them to row row row their boat and we all joined in with a round in song. Fun!

The boat crew could pretend while JJ used his gifts elsewhere.

Jaymison Joshua and Joshua enjoying chillin on the porch swing.

It was such a full weekend enjoying these celebrations and time with loved ones.

We have a 4th of July event with Jamie’s family that we are looking forward to. What are your plans for the 4th?

 

Daniel the Tiger, Take 2

Be forewarned that there is a photo overload in this post. Not apologizing just forewarning.

This time around Addy’s aunties and uncles could attend her party redo!

And we could all be close and personal with hugs galore.

Addy helped to decorate her second birthday cake. I think she helped with her first cake, too.

Addy’s re-do party landed on Dan and Jamie’s 5th Anniversary, June 27th, 2020.

Addy’s friend was able to attend her party re-do. The party was in Addy’s front yard which looks like a park.

Addy’s Granny and Granny Great made this 4 generation party great!

Addy is surrounded by those who love her and those she loves, too, like…

…Great Uncle Scott and Rhonda.

Little brother had a blast as long as he was in the arms of those he knows best.

Expressions galore…

For the most part there was good social distancing.

After a while more chairs were moved to shady spots.

We remembered the party game after all the guests left.

Our daughter in law was very creative with all the Daniel the Tiger party accessories. The Daniel the Tiger Trolley has given Addy and Jaymison lots of great creative play opportunities.

Lots of good Daniel the Tiger themed food for us to enjoy.

All in all our birthday girl was happy and pleased with all the festivities before, during and after her party.

We all were so happy to finally be together for the proper celebration of your 3rd birthday dear Addyson May! You are loved by so many and cared for in wonderful ways by your mommy, daddy, brother and family. Baba and Gramps love you dearly.

This was one full Saturday and our Sunday would be the re-do of Jaymison’s 1st birthday. It was a party animal weekend. Next up will be the photo overload of our Lumberjack Jaymison’s party part 2!

Catching My Breath…

We’ve enjoyed some nonstop fun since Friday afternoon and I’ll need to catch my breath before I can share all the activity. So good to have our little family reunited for the first time since Christmas.

(Not in any particular order for this post)

Seeing Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew for the first time in 6 months.

Enjoying a Baba and JJ tradition of singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat with hand motions.

Three generations.

We had a mix of weather this weekend, cloudy, wet, bright, dark, sunny, showers, thunder, warm, and dry. So far we are lower in Yellow Jacket and Wasp swarms and higher in mosquitoes.

Hopefully I can come around and see what you’ve been up to soon.

Ultimate Lumberjack

I was unable to come up with a good U word so I hope you’ll understand the pressure I was under to make my post fit with the letter U. I give you the Ultimate Lumberjack themed photo shoot from this side of the Columbia River. The broadband I had today was not useless as before and I was able to upload many of the photos from last Saturday the 18th of April. You are under no obligation to view this post. It is ultimately for my use and pleasure. You will undoubtedly confirm Jaymison is the cutest little Lumberjack under 3 feet.

Jaymison Joshua our little lumberjack.

This was my greeting as I got out of my car arriving on our kids’ mountain. Addy was letting me know I needed to keep my distance. UGH! We are going to have to do some un-conditioning once this virus threat has subsided.

Addy rode her little battery operated 4 wheeler over to the photo shoot and climbed through the fence to join the fun.

Hats off to our daughter-in-law for the props, the beards, felt ax rattle, the one sign and to our son for staging his wood pile with the axes and sawdust!

We are so thankful for how you are growing dear Jaymison Joshua. You are mastering walking well. We love your vocalizing and how you are starting to stand up for yourself. It will be interesting to see how you and your sister work out your individual personalities, hopefully with lots of love.  Soon and I hope very soon we will be able to come closer than 6 feet from you. We want to give you a big hug! Baba and Gramps love you so much.

Use It or Lose It Hodgepodge

I’m combining Wednesday Hodgepodge with the A to Z Challenge for the letter S today. Strength, Survivor and Sinner are enough S’s to qualify. Sigh and snicker…

1. What’s something you resolved to do this year? Have you done it?

My motto for the the next few years is “Use It” or “Use It Up”. Ribbons, paper, stationary, stickers, paper napkins, paper plates, etc. etc. Instead of stashing these things away and forgetting about them I want to use them. If I have no intentions on using aforesaid items then I want to give them away.

2. Where do you go to find quietude?

The place that I go for my quiet time activities is our office at our big oak desk that sits in front of our bookshelves. I like being surrounded by the books we love. Bible reading in the Old Testament, a chapter in Proverbs, and finishing up in the New Testament. Then I move on to books written by authors I trust like Spurgeon or MacArthur or Sproul or some of the Puritans to dive deeper into understanding Bible truths. One thing I want to improve on is being more faithful in prayer.

3. A friend asked this question on her Facebook page and said I could borrow it for the Hodgepodge…you’re only allowed to buy 5 things at the grocery store, and all must start with the first letter of your first name. Whatcha’ buying?

I was surprised to find a lot of things that start with the letter E.

  1. Eggs
  2. Enchiladas
  3. Elderflower Cordial
  4. English muffins
  5. Eclair

4. The television show Survivor, the Gloria Gaynor song ‘I Will Survive’, survival mode, survival of the fittest…pick one and discuss.

Survivor, the television show. It has been a show I’ve watched since the beginning. That’s a lot of seasons. I am fascinated by how the human race interacts in this setting. I’d love to reference this show to that professor of mine that wanted us to write a paper on how all humans are inherently good. Haha…no, Mr. So and So, all humans are not good but they are sinners in need of a Savior and I’m one of the chief sinners. So thankful that God provided a way out! I also know I’d never survive on that show. If I ever made it to the island I’d probably be voted off first thing if I didn’t collapse and have to be medivaced out of there!! To other Survivor fans…wasn’t last week’s show one that was so emotional and amazing to see all those children that they flew in!? I was in tears and a little concerned on the welfare of those kids having to leave their parents behind…

5. Share a favorite quote or saying about strength.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This little guy turned 1 last week and we had fun with a lumber jack photo shoot. I will be posting 1,000 photos as soon as I can upload them all. We had his social distancing party last Thursday and then when the weather warmed up on Sunday we managed a social distancing photo shoot. You have been forewarned.

Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the questions and to all who read my answers! Click here to read more Hodgepodge answers.

Party With Social Distancing

We are on the letter P. Let’s Party! Be forewarned that this will be a photo overload since this is the best way I have right now to share all these photos with family and friends who could not join in for the fun.

Our daughter-in-law sent a text to 7 of us to invite us up to their mountain to help celebrate Jaymison Joshua’s first birthday. It was a conditional invitation with social distancing a requirement. The party was held on the front porch with no one going inside their home.

JJ’s party was going to be a big event on this day (April 18th) with a good crowd enjoying the Lumberjack themed festivities like ax throwing and log rolling but the Corona virus halted all those plans. Some had flights already booked.

Seated on his party throne for the duration!

Let’s start with paper…I mean presents.

The spectators and gift givers and happy celebrants. They are smiling behind those masks! Granny Linda, Gramps, Uncle Scott, Great Granny Florence, Grandpa Jim. Aunt Rhonda was on phone duty keeping other family who joined us on their phones up front seeing and listening to all the festivities. Uncle Andrew, Auntie Katie, Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo.

Time for cake!

This next photo is one to illustrate the pain this Baba feels when her little grands don’t understand Social Distancing.

That face, those hands, ugh…the pain is real.

Here are some other photos taken by JJ’s mommy on his birthday.

What a wonderful smile!

Sitting on his sister. It’s going to be fun to see their interactions in the future. Happy Birthday Jaymison. What fun it was to celebrate with you even at a distance!