Easter Day, Here and There…

Easter 2023 our western crew wasn’t able to be with our eastern crew. We will be all together next this coming weekend, Lord willing. Glad photos were taken of these two in their Easter finery that they wore to church.

We had a sermon centered on Jesus and 3 characteristics of a Risen Savior; He is calling your name, He can calm your fears, He can conquer your doubt. The Bible is a living book about a living Savior. It was good to be in the house of the Lord.

This crew a few hundred miles away had their finery on, too.

After church there was some Easter basket fun with baskets that are not of the traditional kind.

Granny was so creative using these cute umbrellas with the current themes for our Grands, Unicorns and Dinosaurs, filled with lots of fun goodies!

Finally it was time to get our rain gear on and go outside for the Easter Egg Hunt!

We didn’t get the sunshine we had last year for this Easter Sunday and we had a very rainy Easter Monday. We should be full swing into our season of mud here. We only have a couple small snow piles left in our yard. This coming weekend will be a very busy one for us as we will celebrate our grandson’s 4th birthday…with a dinosaur theme.

Easter Monday

Recovering from a glorious Easter day.

We had a little rain just in time for the Easter Egg hunt. That didn’t deter the Grands at all.

When I get my photos together I’ll share more. Didn’t take one photo of the Easter Brunch we had at church. It went well and we had good help so that was a huge relief. We had close to 200 come through for the brunch. For the service we had a full sanctuary and overflow in the gym.

Hope you all have a good week!

The Day in Between

On this day in between we are preparing for our Joyful Resurrection Sunday service. “It is Finished”

It rained most of the day yesterday but it looks like we have the day off from rain today.

I’ve not been on my computer much as we are busy here at our Country Bungalow preparing not only for Easter Day but some other events this Spring.

Hope to be around soon to see how Spring is unfolding in your neck of the woods.

The Rest of Last Weekend

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.

Cake, Presents and Party Games!

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 is Six!

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.

Our Sweet Spring Gift

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!

Welcome Back Robins

 

Piping Robin

by Annette Wynne

Piping Robin, piping so,
Tell the snow
It’s time to go;
Tell the rough winds not to blow
Any more through field and glen;
Call the bluebirds home again,
Tell the little flowers to grow,
Piping Robin, piping so!

I was happy to see the first of the Robins return to our yard this past Saturday. We still have not seen daffodils pop up. As you can see the snow has not all melted in our yard. The roads and fields are brown and muddy looking as are parts of our acreage. How is your corner of the world?

HT: Discover Poetry

Marching Forward Hodgepodge

Our back acres taken yesterday morning. It snowed much of the day.

Joyce From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready for Wednesday Hodgepodge. Marching forward…

1. Hello March! Is it coming in like a lion where you live?

We are having light snow showers so I’d say not so much like a lion. It’s typical for this time of year here.

How do you feel when it rains? It depends. If it hasn’t rained for a while it’s nice to hear the pitter patter on the roof. If it’s the 5th day in a row of rain I long for a dry sunny day.

2. What’s something you’d like to do differently this week than the last? Explain. 
We are supposed to avoid inflammatory foods so I’d like to cut out some of those and replace them with something healthier for us.
3. March 1st is National Sunkist Citrus Day…do you drink orange juice?
I do enjoy a glass of orange juice but not on a regular basis.
Orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit…what’s your favorite citrus fruit?
As a fruit to eat it’s a toss-up between an orange or tangerine. Lemon is very versatile in baking and for salad dressings, etc. Limes for guacamole and a G & T. Grapefruit juice might just be my favorite to drink. One of Dear’s new medications has a warning for him not to have grapefruit anything.
A dish you love with a citrus fruit as one of it’s key ingredients? 
I really can’t come up with a dish but I do enjoy lemon curd.
4. What do you consider to be your culture. Elaborate. 
What best describes my culture is ‘Conservative Christian’. Being a follower of Jesus Christ has the most significant influence on the things I choose to do, wear, say, read, enjoy. Praying I represent my culture better each day.
~
I could also say that I used to be a ‘city girl’ but in the last 4 years I’ve become a ‘country gal’ because of the huge difference in the area I live in now. My wardrobe has taken on more boots and snow appropriate clothes.
5. Sum up your February in fifteen words or less. 
Losing the same ten pounds again this year that I gained back last year, OYE!
6. Insert your own random thought here. 
I came across this little quote that maybe I should tape to my bathroom mirror…
~
“Taste your words before you serve them.” 
~
I’m looking forward to seeing some Spring green and color hopefully by the end of March.

“I’m An American” Hodgepodge

It’s Wednesday so it’s time for the Hodgepodge with thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond who delivers the questions.

1. Pantone’s color of the year for 2023 is Viva Magenta. Etsy’s color(s) of the year are indigo and honeycomb. Your thoughts? Would we find any of these three shades in your home or wardrobe? Is there a room in your house that needs painting this year? Will you do it yourself or hire out? 

Yes to these colors in clothing. Maybe on one wall as an accent. I really love indigo on dishes, as in the photo at the top of this post.

There are no rooms in our home that need a total paint job because in the four years we’ve lived here all the walls have been repainted by Dear. He also painted the exterior of our home in 2022. Dear was a house painter in his younger years so we do not hire out. We own all the ladders, etc. needed for any paint job. We just have to buy the paint. He has some trim to still complete in some rooms.

2. Something you had to do recently that could be described ‘as exciting as watching paint dry’? 

My phrase while Dear was in the hospital after his stroke was, “hurry up and wait”. Hours of waiting for a room to open up in the surgical ward, a surgeon to come in and discuss the surgery procedure, someone to bring the discharge paper work, etc. etc. All the waiting was done with no comfortable chairs for a loved one who was advocating to sit in.

3. Who would you most like to sit beside on a 10-hour flight? Tell us why? Have you ever taken a 10-hour flight? 

Not chatty Kathy but someone I could enjoy a meaningful conversation with like my sister-in-law, Mandy, who knows how to purposefully lead a conversation to what matters. That said, on a 10 hour flight it is helpful to be able to sleep for some of the hours.

We have taken 10 hour flights.

4. What’s something you did growing up that would get you into trouble? 

Hiding from my parents when it was time to leave for Russian school on Saturday mornings. When they found me I’d stomp my foot exclaiming, “I’m an American”! In hindsight I wish I would have been more diligent in learning Russian. Below is one of my school books that I still have. My name is written lightly with pencil in Russian.

Родная Речь ~ Native Speech

Book for teaching second level class beginners school

If you know Russian feel free to correct my translation.

5. According to Google the top searches in 2022 were- Wordle, election results, Betty White, Queen Elizabeth, Bob Saget, Ukraine, Mega Millions, Powerball numbers, Anne Heche, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Hmmm…what does this say about us? How many of these words did you search last year? What would you guess was your most ‘googled’ word/phrase/question.

Queen Elizabeth is the only one off that list that I googled and my most googled phrase was probably Colville Weather or WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) conditions on Snoqualmie Pass.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I posted this on Facebook this week and decided to share it here, too.

“Let’s be cheerful! We have no more right to steal the brightness out of the day for our own family than we have to steal the purse of a stranger. Let us be as careful that our homes are furnished with pleasant and happy thoughts as we are that the rugs are the right color and texture and the furniture comfortable and beautiful.”

~~Laura Ingalls Wilder