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.

Eggs
Enchiladas
Elderflower Cordial
English muffins
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!

Number One Grandson!

Here’s our Number One Grandson, Jaymison. Today is his first birthday. Sweet boy won’t care that he isn’t getting a birthday party because of the pandemic. All the adults that love him dearly will miss watching him enjoy wrapping paper and and tissue. We’ll miss him enjoying cake and ice cream. Jaymison, Baba and Gramps love you so much. You are showing more and more of your personality and we enjoy seeing you grow. You are very talkative and we can’t wait till you can put into words what you want us to hear. You had a scary glitch in your first few weeks of life and we praise God that you are growing and learning well and on track now.

Jaymison Joshua (JJ). His middle name is given him in honor of his Uncle Joshua (Joshie).

Here is the closest photo I have to your first birthday so far with your mommy. Just 2 days shy. What wonderful smiles!

We enjoyed seeing you from a distance on Easter for a little while.

You can still be close to mommy, daddy and Addy.

Enjoy your in home small celebration with your mommy, daddy, and Addy!

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear JJ, happy birthday to you!

We pray that God will bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Daniel the Tiger, Finally!

Here’s our birthday girl in her custom made Daniel the Tiger dress that her mommy made for her.

Her mommy and daddy constructed the Daniel the Tiger Trolley for her birthday party.

Brother is not quite sure what all of this means.

Addy and Gramps opened Addy’s present from us.

She knew exactly what to do with a wheel barrow and will have fun in the garden with her mommy as soon as weather permits. We also gave her a whale pool and a new bathing suit along with a Daniel the Tiger book.

Little brother thought the tissue paper was cool. He did not understand why Baba was not picking him up or giving him kisses. Ugh. The yucky part of this COVID-19 curse!

Addy, enjoying her Daniel the Tiger book from Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo.

The Wheel Barrow was a hit. We informed her she could not put her baby brother in the barrow!

Addy was singing along with all of us when we sang “Happy Birthday to You”. So sweet.

For those of you who don’t know who Daniel the Tiger is here’s a description.

The first series inspired by `Mister Rogers Neighbourhood’, `Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood’ features 4-year-old Daniel Tiger, son of the original programme’s Daniel Striped Tiger. Every day Daniel puts on his red sweater, ties his shoes, and invites a new generation of preschoolers into the Neighbourhood of Make-Believe. Daniel shares his daily adventures with pals O the Owl, Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday and Miss Elaina. With the help of Daniel and his friends, preschoolers have fun and learn practical skills necessary for growing and developing.

Here’s our birthday girl with O the Owl, Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday, Miss Elaina, and Daniel. Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo sent her these stuffed play friends because of the theme of her birthday this year.

I was so happy that these photos finally uploaded to my computer. I believe it has something to do with our satellite broadband that is a lot stronger as soon as the new monthly charge is paid. All these photos were taken on Saturday March 21st, the day Addy’s Daniel the Tiger Birthday party was supposed to happen. We have not seen these dear ones since the 21st. Sad face…

Daniel the Tiger Birthday

This is the Daniel the Tiger Cake Jamie made for Addy’s birthday party.

Addy’s Daniel the Tiger birthday party was supposed to happen on Saturday the 21st of March. Because of the Corona Virus and Social Distancing it was cancelled. We delivered presents on Saturday morning and kept our distance. If you are familiar with the Daniel the Tiger series you might have seen the trolley that is used on the show. Our daughter in law and son created a trolley from large appliance boxes and I took a few photos of it and the Daniel the Tiger dress that Jamie sewed for Addy. A lot of planing and creating that I was happy to be able to photograph. Now my computer and our broadband service won’t let me upload those photos. I’ll add them to this post when things improve.

These photos I’m posting were the photos after our morning gift time taken by our kids. The kids took a hike down their driveway and then enjoyed Addy’s birthday cake. So happy to have them and to see what a good day of sunshine they had together as a family.

On Sunday morning we had church online and it was good.

Two quotes from our online sermon from First Baptist Church Colville this morning:

“God’s glory has to be more consuming than our comfort”

“The presence of anxiety is unavoidable but the prison of anxiety is”

Stay out of prison dear ones.

We are taking this new lifestyle one day at a time. We have all we need at home and are grateful for connections via phone and social media. Our neighbors reached out to us in a text today to make sure we were doing okay. We are the “older folk” in our 5 household community who share a well. Hope all is good in your corner of the world.

Stay safe and keep the Faith!