Our grandson had a fun dinosaur party with a huge surprise. As soon as I can upload all my photos there will be more than one post about our time together this past weekend.
The cutest little dinosaur.
Another awesome creation by our daughter-in-law. JJ asked for lemon cake and wanted the dinosaur to be green.
It was another full weekend with many meals together and fun. It’s always good to get the texts that say our west side kids made it home safely on their 350 mile journey home.
The two guys in this photo above celebrate birthdays this week.
Thank you Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Click over to join in the fun.
1. April 13th is National Scrabble Day…are you a fan?
Yes, I enjoy Scrabble. Haven’t played in ages!
Do you enjoy word games in general?
Yes, mostly.
What’s an eight letter word that tells us something about your life currently?
Peculiar; unusual, or particular or special. We are heading into a period of hospitality at our Country Bungalow that does not involve biological family. We are confident that it will be a blessing as we adjust in the month of May and into part of June.
2. Do you have a junk drawer? Is it full? Do you know what’s in it? What’s in it?
Yes, yes, and yes. It’s full of things like keys, tape measures, charging wires, and junk! Thank you so much for this question as it caused me to clean out that junk drawer and make it more useable!
3. When does time pass quickly for you? When does it pass slowly?
When our family is all together, time passes quickly.
Time passes slowly when I’m awake in the night at 2am and not able to get back to sleep.
4. These eight vegetables are in season during spring-asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, collard greens, garlic, herbs. What’s your favorite? Any on the list you refuse to eat? Last one on the list you ate?
Favorite would probably be carrots. I wouldn’t refuse any of these but I’m not a fan of collard greens. On Monday we had some asparagus, carrots and new potatoes roasted.
5. What’s the oldest thing you own? Tell us about it.
Dear has a French Violin from the 1700’s. That is old and probably the oldest thing in our home. Dear’s dad got it from someone when Dear was 10 or 11 and decided he wanted to take violin lessons. Dear’s dad Rex has always acquired interesting things. Our baby grand piano which we got from Dear’s folks is over a hundred years old.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
This little guy turns 4 this weekend and we will celebrate him with Dinosaurs. Time flies when you have Grands!!
All of our kids will be together this weekend and on Friday evening we’ll start things off celebrating our Son-in-law’s birthday which happens to be today. Happy Birthday Andrew. Can’t wait to celebrate you on Friday!
Thankful that you stopped by to read this post and leave a comment.
While we were outside during our granddaughter’s birthday celebration this eagle graced us with it’s circling flight above us. It stayed for a while and we were thrilled.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles;
They shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle’s.
We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday as we enter Easter Week culminating with celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ next Sunday. As Christians we celebrate Christ’s resurrection every Sunday and it’s because He lives that we can have peace and joy in our lives everyday with a special hope for our future with Him in heaven. I pray that those who read this post will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be born again. Jesus died in our place for our sins and because of His perfect sacrifice we can have all our sins forgiven and be at peace with God on earth as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the One who sacrificed His perfect life for us.
On Saturday the 18th, we moved from the birthday party of one of the youngest in our family to celebrate the oldest in our family, me. Our kids made soup and salad and even baked a loaf of marbled rye for us to enjoy for dinner. After dinner we enjoyed strawberry shortcake. Before the cake was cut we had the obligatory blowing out of a few candles.
I had the best helpers to help blow out the candles.
This guy had a full day of watching others open presents.
I got puzzle piece sorter trays, a puzzle subscription, a framed bouquet of flowers that represent all the months of our family birthdays. Names are written on the stems and some leaves.
Josh asked for silly faces and two of the five obliged. Time for the littles to go home with their parents and for the older folk to hit the sack after a full day of celebrating.
We gathered on Sunday for breakfast at Dan and Jamie’s and we all enjoyed some time outside ending with a nice walk down the driveway and up again.
Our Westside kids hopped into their car and headed back across the mountains for home.
I’m adding this next collage for my benefit.
Love the delight captured in Addy’s face at her ‘friends’ party a week prior to the family party. The bakery owner made those cute unicorn cookies.
Back to the Present: After a few sunny days with temps up into the 50’s we are having a brief cold snap with possible rain in the mix. Looking forward to warmer days next week and hopefully I’ll be able to finish clearing our planters of their old growth. It will be a quiet weekend after our very busy one. Hope you all have a nice weekend.
This money roll from Granny Great and Jim was sooo much fun!
It was so sweet that she tried to read each card before diving into the gift.
Our card read, “Baba and Gramps thank God that He made you and that we get to love you forever!”
Auntie Lolo and Uncle Josh bought the birthday dress, amazing sequenced unicorn jacket and shoes for Addy which was her birthday outfit.
We played a game where we had to hold a plate on top of our heads and attempt to draw a unicorn or a rainbow without taking the plate off of our heads. Addy was the judge and she looked at each drawing carefully and chose the unicorn winner and the rainbow winner…
The winners!
Outside for unicorn ring toss!
Brother preferred riding his jeep.
This party was over and we went home where our kids had planned another meal for dinner and cake for my belated birthday celebration. The fun was constant from our Friday St. Patrick’s day meal through Sunday breakfast before our ‘Westside’ kids drove home. That will be another post.
Addy had a wonderful family birthday party on Saturday a couple days before her actual birthdate. We gathered at noon and enjoyed good food, a couple of games, birthday cake and presents. This is the people post. Tomorrow will be the present, cake and candle post.
We love you dear Addy and are so thankful we get to celebrate you in person.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
Putting together the balloon arch. Thank you Aunticorns!
Aunticorn: Like a Normal Aunt, But More Awesome.
Uncle Joshie and Auntie Lolo.
Addy’s Mommy created this amazing Unicorn Cake. If you haven’t guessed already, Unicorns were the theme for this party.
Granny and Granny Great
4 generations on the top and Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda on the bottom.
Gramps and Baba
Charcuterie, rainbow veggies, and rainbow fruit.
The birthday girl, food, company, and weather was magical, just like unicorns. More birthday fun tomorrow.
Six years ago on the first day of Spring our very first grandchild was born. Happy Sixth birthday to our one and only granddaughter, Addy May! Baba and Gramps love you so much. A very full birthday fun post is coming soon. We thank our God that He created you and we get to love you! We love you, we love you, we love you!
Happy First day of Spring everyone. We had wonderful Spring weather from Friday through Sunday which was a wonderful change. Much of our snow has melted. We had a full weekend of celebrations, too. Hope Spring arrives nicely in your corner of the Northern Hemisphere!
Some thoughts and collages looking back on my Seventy Second Birthday.
Lived in proximity to the Pacific Ocean for 72 years anywhere from a couple miles away to now over 400 miles away. I’m a West Coast Girl.
A city girl for 67 years.
A born again believer in Jesus Christ for 60 years.
Sadie Sadie married lady for 48 years.
A most thankful mom for 44 years.
A grateful grandmother for 6 years.
A country gal for 4-1/2 years.
Thanking the LORD for His steadfast love to me and my family. The best eternal gift I have received is my redemption with so many added blessings through the years some in the form of trials. Many sweet earthly gifts, too. Pressing on and looking to my future hope.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever, Amen.” Jude 1:24
We had a lot of rain on Monday and today we might get some sunshine breaking through. That will be nice for our day in Spokane for shopping and eating at a new spot to us.
The beach in winter is a favorite of mine. These were some photos from our time at Huntington Beach during our family vacation in January that I haven’t shared yet.
I find the underside of a pier interesting and love watching the waves roll through.
Our niece Debbee and Lenny were married in 2013 in Huntington Beach and they took their engagement photos here so it was fun to try to recreate that moment.
This day was also Lenny’s birthday.
Today we are nowhere near the coast and we still have that white stuff on the ground and it’s not beach foam.
Our Colville kids are coming over for dinner tonight. Speaking of dinner, tonight will be the third dinner in a row that I’ve made. It’s a Notable February for that reason and others, too. Wednesday we had an Asian Stir Fry with actual vegetables. Here’s the dinner we had Thursday night. Leg of Lamb with vegetables in my Jamie Oliver Retro Roaster. We like lamb and I know many people don’t.
Tonight we’re having Oven Baked Tilapia with rice and vegetables or salad.
Speaking of food, 18 eggs were $4.24 at our local Wal-Mart on Wednesday. They were not the brown eggs, or free range eggs, or Beverly Hills Eggs, just the white caged bird eggs.
What have you been eating these days? Happy First Friday in February.
The finale of our DisneyCaliFam vacation was on Thursday January 19th, which is the birthday of our firstborn, Josh. His birthday was spent in service to the rest of us. He made an early morning run to the Orange County Airport to deliver our Daughter-in-law’s mom and granny for their morning flight back to Spokane, Washington.
The remaining ten of us packed up and cleaned up our VRBO and headed to my sister Vera’s home in Huntington Beach to see what leftovers we had that she might be able to use. She definitely wanted the 18 count package of eggs. Our flight out of Orange county was at 8:40 pm so we had some time to kill. Vera joined us for a trip to Fiesta Grill for our reminiscent Mexican meal. All the years Nick and Vera lived down the road from this great Mexican Joint, we enjoyed walking to get take out to bring back to their place. Nick is with his Savior now in heaven and Vera is in a new home but we cherish the memories.
Back at Vera’s, JJ and Addy were laid down for a nap and the ‘kids’ enjoyed playing UNO.
Vera had a meal in the slow cooker for us for dinner. Our sister Lana would be joining us for dinner.
Up from their naps there was a rainbow to enjoy. JJ was in Lana’s room napping and quietly got up and went about discovering some things like her radio to which he declared “I did not touch any buttons”. When I walked in the room he had a water bottle with the top off and declared to me, “Baba, this water tastes funny.” He also thought the 20# weights were too heavy for him, but the 5# weights were fine. OYE.
When Lana arrived she had animated stories of some events at her new home in Dallas and everyone gave her their full attention.
From bursting water pipes to destructive squirrels, she had everyone’s attention.
Three of our four sisters, Me, Lana and Vera.
Too soon it was time to head to the airport to turn in our trusty 15 passenger van and check in for our flight back to Washington.
Did you know there was a pilot shortage these days?
These two enjoyed meeting the pilot and sitting in the co-pilots chair!
The flight home was non eventful which is the best kind of flight and we made it into Paine Field in Everett at 11:45ish and home in bed at Josh and Laura’s by 1am. We would still have a 5 hour drive to Colville later that day, Friday the 20th. We slept as long as our bodies allowed, got up, packed the car, had some breakfast and got on the road at 9:30am. We were home after a stop in Spokane for gas and a meal in Chewelah. We made it home before dark.
A very meaningful trip for all of us. Thanks for following along.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 