Category Archives: Colville

A New Week…

…with a fresh start.

Trying something new today with the following prompts:

Sunday May 5th: We left home for our church services at the regular time. This Sunday we were having a Missionary Emphasis with a Missions Auction later in the afternoon and early evening. I baked a cheesecake for our contribution to the auction and the highest bid was over $80. Later this week we will find out the total amount our Auction fundraiser yielded.

Monday May 6th: Today will be laundry day. A good day to do indoor things since we are having rain since Sunday afternoon. I’ll be getting guestrooms ready. While I’m typing the rhythm of the falling rain is loud and clear.

New challenge: I’m responding to a prayer initiative that our Missionary speaker shared with us called PRAY938. Thirty days of prayer asking God to send gospel workers into His harvest. (Based on Matthew 9:38) The challenge includes a booklet with prompts to help you pray specifically.

Planning: Monday mornings are my time for making lists and looking over what is on the calendar for this new week. That reminds me, I forgot to sign up for the Mother/daughter Princess Pajama party on Friday evening at our church. oops. Addy is so excited for this event. I need to plan a menu for our Mother’s Day small gathering on Sunday evening.

Organizing: We are participating in a group garage sale the first weekend in June so I have been organizing and pricing items I’ve set aside for that event. I’m happy with my progress thus far.

Current Books I’m Reading: Besides my Day by Day with J.C. Ryle, I’m reading The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges. I’ve learned a lot from both books but I’m missing my daily readings from Spurgeon and will add his works back into my daily regiment.

Quotable: 

From J.C. Ryle: “Conversion is an illumination, a change from darkness to light, from blindness to seeing the kingdom of God.”

From Bridges: “Remember, the grace that brought salvation to you is the same grace that teaches you. But you must respond on the basis of grace, not law. That is why you must “preach the gospel to yourself every day.”

Thankful: I’m thankful that I see our grandchildren at church on Sundays and I get a special weekly hug from them.

Thomas Aquinas: “Give us, O, Lord thankful hearts which never forget Your goodness to us. Give us, O, Lord, grateful hearts, which do not waste time complaining.”

Hope you all have a thankful week ahead!

They Are Returning

We put out 3 hummingbird feeders this year. We are happy to see the little hummers return. They are not back in full force yet but we are happy to watch the ones that are enjoying the feeders.

Thursday morning between six an seven a.m. we were treated to a show by a group of deer running around and hopping in our backyard. I took a video that I wish I could share.

I’m adding a quote for the day here.

I am very sure that any man of common understanding may, by culture, care, attention, and labor, make himself what- ever he pleases, except a great poet.~ Lord Chesterfield

Hope the first weekend in May is filled with lots of joy for all who visit here.

Hurrah for Ice Cream

On Sunday these two enjoyed a scoop of ice cream in an ice cream cone after our dinner.

Such a simple good dessert.

What is your favorite brand and flavor? We are partial to Häagen-Dazs. One of our favorite flavors is Vanilla Swiss Almond. We only buy it when it goes on a good sale.

The grands above are enjoying Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Got Skills?

Our grandson turned 5 this week and his new bike is already getting a workout. Riding a bicycle is a good skill to have! JJ at 5 already has many good life skills! We enjoyed a fun bowling party to celebrate JJ this past Saturday.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for skillfully posting questions each week for Wednesday Hodgepodge! 

1. What’s a skill you think everyone should have? 

Tying your shoes. Personal Hygiene. Use of basic tools. Cooking skills enough to be able to feed yourself. Basic Math. Reading. Writing. Following a Map. Driving. Putting gas in a vehicle. Earning money. Making a bed. Cleaning a toilet. Running a washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher. How to use a computer.

I could not stop at just one.

2. Do you have a special place or organizational system for gift wrapping?

I have a general bin with gift bags, wrapping paper and tissue and a separate Christmas bin with the same items. I also have a basic ribbon bin and a Christmas ribbon bin.

Do you still buy ‘real’ cards to send for birthdays, anniversaries, get-well, etc? 

I do still have real cards that I send for these events. TIP: Buy your cards at the Dollar stores where many cards are 2 for a dollar or a dollar each!

3. It’s National Banana Day…are you a fan? What’s your favorite thing to make with bananas or, if you’re not a cook, your favorite thing to eat that contains banana? 

We don’t keep bananas around here typically but when we do have bananas that have fully ripened we enjoy our favorite, Banana Bread.

4. Do you believe in second chances? Elaborate. 

Where would any of us be without second chances? We all fall, fail, make mistakes. We need to be forgiven and we need to forgive. We need reconciliation in this world.

Matthew 18:21-22  Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

5. What is your idea of fun? 

Fun for me is any event that makes me smile at the end of the day. The feeling of satisfaction that comes from time together, good conversations, worthwhile projects completed. Good things and good interactions that satisfy and improve your heart and mind. Time well spent.

Something specific that I enjoy is planning a trip. I like to research areas and consider all the choices of things to see and do. This is a fun exercise for me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Besides all the birthday fun for JJ, Addy had her first Irish Dance Recital with the Haran Dancers.

Full post coming soon.

Five Today!

Happy Birthday to our favorite 5 year old!

Warning: This post is loaded with photos and could have been even more loaded!

Great Uncle and Auntie came prepared.

Granny and Granny Great watched all the shenanigans.

Auntie Katie pulled out the overall win with the best score and enjoyed beating out her brother with the most flamboyant of shirts.

She does own her own bowling ball and shoes!

I came in with the lowest score…too bad this isn’t golf.

Some of us have really good form!

 

And style…

 

 

The oldest bowlers.

 

 

One of the youngest first time bowlers!

The youngest first time bowler and birthday boy!

Sometimes he used the dino helper to roll the ball.

JJ waited patiently for Cake and Gifts!

Finally…time for cake!

It was worth the wait to see his new bicycle!

He ripped through the rest of the presents with ease.

His great uncle Scott made this holster and belt for him!

What a great keepsake!

JJ jumped up from opening all his presents and gave a thank you hug to us all.

We gathered up all our belongings and headed up to JJ’s house to spend a few hours before Addy’s Irish Dance Recital!

JJ ran into the house to change clothes and get his helmet on so he could ride his new bike! When he entered the house he exclaimed, “home at last”! What a character!

Happy birthday dear grandson of ours. Baba and Gramps love you so much. You are full of life and have an adventurous spirit. You are great at building things and coming up with ideas to hold things together. You give the best hugs. We love your vocabulary. You have the best laugh! We look forward to seeing the new things you learn while you are 5! God bless you and keep you all the days of your life!

 

April Birthday Weekend

We all gathered on Friday afternoon and evening when all our family arrived from Colville and across the mountains for the beginning of a big weekend to celebrate JJ’s 5th birthday and Addy’s first Irish dance recital. We were able to celebrate Andrew’s birthday, too!

I will post the photos from JJ”s Bowling party tomorrow. Addy’s recital photos will come later in the week. A full happy weekend.

On Friday evening we enjoyed Thai food and desserts which included Andrew’s favorite Pecan birthday pie!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

The rest of these photos are from Saturday and Sunday between the other major happenings. Thank you so much to Laura for all these wonderful captures!

Addy was very excited to show Auntie Lolo the frog or whatever they are called when they are this small. They may be small but they fill the night air with their songs in Spring. It can be deafening.

Addy and JJ are also excited to show us all their small chicks that they hatched from an incubator.

The weather was amazing with sunshine and temps up into the 70’s.

What is that and where are you going with it?

All too soon the weekend was over and our ‘coast’ kids headed home.

We again have happy thoughts and full hearts as we recuperate from all the fun!

Happy U.S. tax day to all of my friends in the USA. Happy Monday to my friends from other parts of the world!

Early Spring at Our Country Bungalow

We are seeing more green around our country bungalow and the first pop of color are the Daffodils and the sweet Johnny Jump Ups.

I brought a bouquet in for the table and will be bringing in a second bouquet today for our weekend festivities.

On this past Tuesday we had our 2024 inaugural walk on the Rotary Trail. Speaking of inaugural, I mowed our acreage on Tuesday, also. This was an early start to mowing.

From a distance we thought this was a real heron but when I zoomed in it looks more like a statue.

There were lots of real birds chirping and singing as we walked.

This eagle was soaring.

This trail loop walk takes us just under an hour to complete.

Our glass fishing float was reflecting the clouds this past week and I zoomed in for a photo.

“This glass fishing float is one of the historical, handblown floats used for nautical buoyancy and fishing gear.”

We also have a basket full of smaller floats. This next photo of the floats was taken in the summer with our pest ‘Alvin’.

We have two car loads arriving at our Country Bungalow for the weekend and another Colville carload here for the late afternoon and evening. Today is Andrew’s birthday and we will celebrate him. Tomorrow we will celebrate JJ’s 5th birthday with a bowling party. His actual birthday is in the middle of this coming week. Tomorrow evening and Sunday afternoon Addy has a dance recital with her Irish dancing group. Fun times are afoot! I will be scarce here but busy in the kitchen and elsewhere.

Here’s todays birthday boy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Have Patience Hodgepodge

On Tuesday we took our first walk of the year on the Rotary Trail here in Colville. What a beautiful day!

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Do you complete your own tax returns or hire out? Something you’ve found taxing lately? 

When we have to complete tax returns, we’ve always hired out.

I am finding weeding and other planter upkeep more and more taxing on my body the older I get. Just getting down and up again can be a challenge. Using the weed wacker and the hedge trimmer is harder and harder.

2. It’s spring (in the northern hemisphere anyway)…would you rather spend the day hiking in the great outdoors or planting a garden? Do you/will you have a garden this year? Flowers, vegetables, or a bit of both?

I’m not a hiker or a gardener. I will walk on relatively flat areas with gentle slopes in the great outdoors and I will weed the planters and mow in the grassy areas. We have a wonderful array of perennials that pop up every year without any help from me. I owe those lovely spots of color to previous owners of our country bungalow. Besides peonies, columbines, lavender, day lilies, lily of the valley, we have a relentless rhubarb plant and some garlic that emerges without help from us.

3. Do you consider yourself a patient person?

On the outside I can be very patient. I’m a Born Again follower of Jesus and because of that I am in a lifelong Sanctification process where the Holy Spirit is working on my inside changing my mind about a lot of things through what I read in God’s Word, The Bible. Part of that process is in making me more patient on the inside.

In what sort of situation is patience not desirable?

When your house is on fire or when a life is at risk it is time to abandon patience!

Are you happy with the degree of patience you have in your daily life? If not, what can you do to cultivate more of this quality in your life? 

In many situations I pray that God would give me a ‘Mary’ attitude instead of a ‘Martha’ attitude.

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

The good portion is Jesus, believing on Him, sitting at His feet, following Him and learning more about Him and loving Him more and more which develops into a solid trust.

Some practical steps I’ve practiced lately…

Let someone go ahead of me in line. Plan ahead and give myself all the time necessary to accomplish tasks or get to an appointment on time. Think about the other person in a situation and consider what they might be going through. Don’t think too highly of myself and my importance. Consider the other person as important. Tell myself, I’m not in charge of the World, God is.

4. Do you like the flavor cinnamon? If so what’s your favorite something made with cinnamon? 

I do enjoy cinnamon. I don’t have them often but I won’t turn down a fresh out of the oven cinnamon roll!

5. Learn by watching or learn by doing? Elaborate. 

I need both the watching and the doing. After watching I can dive in and do and then I am more confident and better equipped to do.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Do any of you remember the Kids Psalty song ‘Have Patience’ from the 80’s?

Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry. When you get impatient you only start to worry. Remember, remember, that God is patient, too. And think of all the times that others had to wait for you. 

Co-op Cultural Day

The week leading up to Easter our Grands Co-op had a cultural day with presentations from each family. I was invited to be part of that presentation since their country was Russia. It was good to be at Co-Op the whole day and see and hear from all the family units. Several families presented interesting facts about their countries that were new to me. In between presentations there were breaks and a lunchtime potluck with dishes from all the countries/cultures represented. Our DIL served Piroshky and Perog.

It was a full Thursday for everyone.

This is a new puzzle I completed before Easter forgetting to take a photo when it was finished. It is one from the collection of The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady. There was so much going on between Addy’s Birthday weekend and Easter weekend!

Are you anywhere in the clear path of the Total Eclipse today?

Make sure you protect your eyes! We wore these for the 2017 Solar Eclipse.

Have a great week everyone!

O How I Love Jesus ~ Hymn

O How I Love Jesus

There is a name I love to hear,
I love to speak its worth;
It sounds like mu­sic in mine ear,
The sweet­est name on earth.

Refrain

O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
O how I love Je­sus,
Because He first loved me!

It tells me of a Sav­ior’s love,
Who died to set me free;
It tells me of His pre­cious blood,
The sin­ner’s per­fect plea.

Refrain

It tells me of a Fa­ther’s smile
Beaming up­on His child;
It cheers me through this lit­tle while,
Through de­sert, waste, and wild.

Refrain

It tells me what my Fa­ther hath
In store for ev­ery day,
And though I tread a dark­some path,
Yields sun­shine all the way.

Refrain

It tells of One whose lov­ing heart
Can feel my deep­est woe;
Who in my sor­row bears a part,
That none can bear be­low.

Refrain

It bids my tremb­ling heart re­joice;
It dries each ris­ing tear;
It tells me, in a still small voice,
To trust and ne­ver fear.

Refrain

Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear!
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart con­ceive how dear.

Refrain

This name shall shed its frag­rance still
Along this thor­ny road,
Shall sweet­ly smooth the rug­ged hill
That leads me up to God.

Refrain

And there, with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sor­row free,
I’ll sing the new eter­nal song
Of Je­sus’ love to me.

Refrain