Category Archives: Family

Looking Back at 2017

This is one of those posts that is for my own brain to keep this past year in a kind of order. These collages are prompts for my memory.

January is the only month I’m giving a full collage to because it was filled with family events in California. Joe and Hannah’s wedding at an orchid farm in Goleta, a family baby shower for Jamie and Addy, the Getty Museum, the funeral of a best friend’s mom where I was reunited with lots of old friends and beach time with family. Vera visited the Pacific Northwest and we went to Snoqualmie Falls and the Chihuly Glass Museum.

Dear and I took some short and long road trips and had some nice walks.

Family times in Colville and in Seattle throughout the year before and after Addy was born.

Josh and Laura

Katie and Andrew

Dan and Jamie and now Dan, Jamie and Addy.

Addy May

Uncle Josh and Addy

Addy May

Mommy, Daddy and Addy

Auntie Katie and Uncle Andrew with Addy

Auntie Laura with Addy.

Gramps and Addy

Gramps, Baba and Addy

Baba and Addy

May in California for Pop’s 94th birthday, Washington tulips, cherry blossoms, Japanese Garden, Magnuson Park, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, summer visits from nieces and nephews and sisters, birthday parties, fall colors.

I’ve had some thoughts about the New Year but nothing that is worthy of sharing yet. Our first day of the New Year was slow for me and as usual Dear was busy working on our master bath remodel while I watched the Rose Parade. After the parade I tried out a new salsa recipe to post later this month and then I watched the Rose Bowl game. That game was one of the best bowl games I’ve seen in years. Hope you had a good day.

I’m experimenting and seeing if I can close comments on this post.

 

Overflowing With Gratitude

We had 4 days of family time living under the same roof and enjoying cooking for each other, eating together, working together, and play time, too. We had a sit down Thanksgiving meal together on Saturday evening with all the trimmings and we were stuffed.

Dan showed us the skull and antlers of the Buck he preserved from our first annual family hunting trip in October.

Dan and Jamie indulged me and let Addy have an early Christmas opening the stocking filled with little things from Gramps and Baba. We will not be with Dan, Jamie and Addy on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day this year so it was fun to enjoy this early gift giving.

The elephant was her favorite and she really wasn’t too sure about the soft dolly.

Josh and Laura flew home on Sunday and we enjoyed some family shots before they left for the airport.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!

Psalm 133:1-2 (ESV)

The family selfie. We were sad that Andrew was not able to travel with us this time. A degree in Aeronautical Engineering takes lots of study and class time and his fall quarter is overloaded with classes.

Katie, Dear and I had one more evening to spend with Dan, Jamie and Daddy’s Girl.

Early on Monday morning we posed for our obligatory goodbye photos.

So thankful for this little girl and all the joy she has brought into our family dynamic.

We thought we’d have rain for our full 6 hours of travel time but thankfully we had some very short periods of sunshine breaking through and we enjoyed several rainbows on our drive home.

We spotted this rainbow passing through Ellensburg, Washington. Yep…I have a burg.

Back at the home front Dear went right into action removing the old counter tops. We are currently without counters, our cook top and our sink. Yikes. Hopefully things will get installed for sure on Wednesday so I can cook our portion of the Thanksgiving meal we are taking to our friend’s home on Thanksgiving Day. Good thing we did not plan on a Thanksgiving meal at this old house this year!

We are thankful to the God who is who was and who is to come for all he has done for us and to us during our lifetime.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 1:8 (ESV)

Hope your Thanksgiving week is shaping up nicely. Are you cooking or is someone else doing the hosting and cooking? For our Canadian friends who have already enjoyed Thanksgiving, have you started your Christmas decorating?

Thankful

So thankful that she remembers us when we are able to visit her and she lights up and puts her arms out for us to hold her. Her many expressions captivate us and make us smile and some make us laugh out loud. We’ve been busy the last four days and we will hit the road back west over the Cascades early tomorrow morning. We’ve enjoyed work and play together. After Josh and Laura arrived from the Spokane airport on Friday we headed to El Ranchito for an early dinner. On Saturday the guys worked on the winter wood supply and the girls prepared a Thanksgiving meal and were able to fit in a craft show and a girls lunch out with Jamie’s mom, granny and friends.

Saturday night we enjoyed turkey, yams, stuffing, homemade rolls and gravy plus homemade pies. Sunday was a more relaxed day with Dear’s Swedish pancakes for breakfast and then more work on the wood supply followed by some family photo shoots. We said goodbye to Josh and Laura and are relaxing for the evening before our trek home tomorrow and back to work for Dan.

So thankful for our time together!

Barns, Pumpkins, Corn Mazes and More!

On Sunday October 15th the girls headed to Knight Farm to enjoy the corn maze and pumpkin patch. The Barn built in 1907 is on the Washington State Heritage Barn Register.

With corn maze map in hand (Katie’s hand) we set off for the maze entrance.

Katie masterfully led us to each checkpoint in the maze never making a wrong turn.

Addy started out awake and soon fell fast asleep.

We started at the bottom at station #10 and ended our trek at station #1.

When we were done with the maze Addy woke up and we picked out 3 pumpkins. One for daddy, one for mommy, and one for Addy.

Yep, the cutest little pumpkin in the patch!

While in the maze I spotted these farms with barns in the distance.

The guys were done hunting on Sunday with early success bringing a buck home just after noon.  Andrew had to leave us all to drive the 350 miles back to Seattle so he could be in class on Monday morning. Dear, Josh and Dan started the hard work of prepping the venison while we were away at the pumpkin patch.

I spared everyone the full image of the buck in the back of our son’s truck but you can see the antlers if you look closely. One side of the antlers look like they are growing out of Joshua’s head. Andrew left before they had the celebratory toast.

Addy with auntie Katie before we got dressed for the pumpkin patch. She was interested in the guys excitement in retelling the story of how their successful hunting morning unfolded.

Linking up with Tom for The Barn Collective and Maggie at Normandy Life for Mosaic Monday.

A Fortnight Ago

The guys were out of the house before dawn to get to the location they would be hunting in. The girls got ready for a sign painting party leisurely.

All of Addy’s grandmothers and her great grandmother were at the party. This photo is of Jamie, Granny Great, Granny Linda and Addy. I forgot to get photos of everyone’s sign. This one is mine.

Jamie, Laura, Katie, Addy and I went out for a snack after the painting party.

When we got home the men were back from hunting with their first buck. We tuckered Addy out.

Addy woke up happy and had snuggles with her mommy and then she was ready to be entertained by her two aunties.

I’ll spare you too many details but when the men got to a certain point in their venison preparations they got all cleaned up and we had leftovers for dinner. Look away before you get to this last photo if you are queasy around raw meat.

We were all tuckered out after a full day of entertainment. Sunday would be the second day of hunting for the guys and it would be Pumpkin Patch time for the girls.

Back to the present: Today was such a glorious sunshiny day in the Pacific Northwest with beautiful color all around us. Glory to God for creating the seasons for us to enjoy.

Hope you all have a wonderful last weekend of October!

Fishing

Each of our family members arrived at Dan and Jamie’s home at different hours on Thursday the 12th of October. The last to arrive were Katie, Andrew and Laura after Dear and I were fast asleep. Dear and I arrived first, Josh drove by himself arriving later in the afternoon. Katie and Andrew hit the road from Seattle after Andrew’s last class at the University of Washington. On their way through Spokane they picked up Laura who flew in after her work day. Hunting Season opening day wasn’t until Saturday the 14th so Friday was deemed fishing day. Dear and our original three loaded up their gear and headed to Lake Roosevelt (part of the Columbia River) to launch Dan and Jamie’s (new to them) boat for a day on the water.

Jamie, Laura, me and Addy enjoyed the morning getting re-acquainted. Andrew worked on some homework so he would be free to hunt on Saturday. Aeronautical Engineering involves lots of hours of homework. Close to noon Jamie packed up some lunch items and the stay at home crew drove to Colville Flats on Lake Roosevelt to meet up with the fishing crew and enjoy a picnic lunch together. The morning family time tired little miss Addy out and she slept through the drive and the lunch and all the way home again!

The views of Lake Roosevelt from one of the day use areas on the lake.

We had the area all to ourselves.

We enjoyed the views and the reflections. Andrew skipped some stones along the still water surface.

It was fun to watch the boat approach the flats where we had set up our picnic lunch.

Everyone made it out of the boat without getting wet.

The boat took off again with one more passenger, Andrew. The rest of us headed home for the late afternoon and evening. We enjoyed a meal together, fish and chicken tacos and then preparations were made for an early start for deer hunting on Saturday. The ladies and Addy had a Sign Painting Class to attend on Saturday. Speaking of Addy…

She is on the move with many skills. Crawling, holding herself up, pulling herself up to standing, side stepping while holding onto the sofa and increasing her balance. She’s a strong little babe. More to come.

So thankful for our family time all together under one roof for several days.

We are busy back here at home getting the kitchen ready for new quartz counter tops. I have taken some before photos so I’ll have a before and after post in the future. We are scheduled for templates to be made next Wednesday. With the quartz chosen we now will choose the backsplash product.

Hope all is going well in your corner of the world!

Barns and More

A few farm scenes from Northeastern Washington for Tom’s Barn Collective. These shots were taken from the road on the way to our son’s home for some family time together last week and weekend.

Back here in Seattle we enjoyed the last season game for the Seattle Sounders v. Colorado Rapids.

A Sunday afternoon game and the sun came out to warm us after several days of rain. The tifo for this game was exceptional. Tifo [ˈtiːfo] is the Italian word for the phenomenon of supporting a sport team. In some countries (but not in Italy) it is mostly used as a name for any choreography displayed by fans in the stands of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, mostly as part of an association football (soccer) match.

We especially enjoyed our time this afternoon since the Sounders won 3-0 and we now get a bye before we head to a playoff game.

Hope you all are having a good weekend and that it ends well.

Sixty Four

On Saturday we met our kids at the Edgewater Hotel on the waterfront in Seattle for a brunch to celebrate Dear’s Sixty Fourth birthday.

I married someone younger than me. God has blessed me dearly with this man and I thank him for that many times each year. And the blessings from this marriage continued with our three children and then their three spouses and now our little granddaughter Addy May. For God’s mercy and grace we are grateful.

The views were nice all around. Our kids chose this spot because of the Beatles tune, When I’m Sixty Four.

In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at The Edgewater Hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them.

Beatlemania so consumed Seattle that The Edgewater had to install cyclone fencing around the hotel to keep the screaming fans at bay. Some fans even tried swimming across Elliott Bay to reach the Fab Four. After their concert, The Beatles were rushed back to the hotel in an ambulance, while taxi cabs and stand-ins were used as decoys. During their stay, the band famously fished from the window of their suite, the photo of which has become legendary.

These next photos were taken after brunch in the Edgewater Hall of Fame. On a side note The Beatles were the first group as a young teen that I was smitten with. When Dear and I were in a Christian Rock Band we toured England and our group sang on one of the first stages the Beatles performed on in Liverpool. Lots of fun memories connected with this group.

We sang the Beatles tune to Dear during our brunch and for the record,  I’ll still love him and I’ll still feed him now that he’s sixty four!

I had to share the beautiful skies we are enjoying now that the smoke has dissipated. We have beautiful views of the mountains again to the East of us and to the West of us.

And since I mentioned little Addy May I have to share the very latest photo we were just texted. She continues to steal our affections.

Now for some reason I can’t wait to take her to Disneyland, when she’s five or older! Happy Tuesday to all of you!

Surprise!

Dan, Jamie and Addy surprised us royally with an unexpected stop at our house on their way home from a vacation on the Oregon Coast. All our kids knew about this surprise that was on it’s way. They kept Dear and me in the dark until they pulled up in our driveway. We were shocked in a happy happy joy joy way! We enjoyed them under our roof for 20 hours before they made the final leg of their journey home.

We gave Addy time with mommy so she could get used to her new surroundings after spending 8 hours in the car traveling up from the Oregon coast.

I got lots of snuggles and kissed those cheeks and when I wasn’t holding her I was snapping some photos. She spent some time getting reacquainted with Gramps.

Aunt Katie blocked Addy’s escape route off the blanket while Addy stretched and scooted getting some good exercise before it was time to go to sleep.

Time for jammies with a little prayer that she’d be able to sleep through the night after a few rough nights in Oregon. Thankfully Addy was able to sleep through the night and was ready for lots of visiting and attention on Saturday.

Aunties and Uncles arrived for our Swedish Pancakes breakfast and we took turns being entertained by Addy. Addy was very interested in her aunties and uncles. Auntie Laura got some extra noises and raspberries from Addy.

She can really move and scoot and push herself up on all fours.

Uncle Josh got some good snuggles in and Addy was very interested in his beard.

She is active and curious and strong.

It was like Christmas in August. We traditionally take a walk after Swedish Pancakes on Christmas morning. We took this selfie after our morning walk to burn some of the calories we added up at breakfast. Addy is under the white hat in her baby carrier having fallen asleep during our walk. I borrowed some of these photos from Laura.

She looked a bit dazed when we pulled her out of the front pack waking her up. Addy loves to stick her tongue out, blow raspberries and work those eyebrows of hers.

Expressing herself with Auntie Katie.

She’s also on to all of us and knows when we are taking photos with our phones or cameras!

A friend of Jamie’s handed down this Johnny Jump-Up which has proven be be enjoyable for Addy. We had one years ago for Josh and Dan. We never tried it for Katie. They really have improved the design with extra padding and comfort.

It was a quick overnight visit and the kids were in some horrendous traffic heading home over the pass. Thank you Dan, Jamie and Addy for going the extra miles to visit us and enduring the horrible traffic you encountered going home! See you in two weeks! This time we’ll do the driving.

Hoping for God’s Peace to all who visit my blog!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 (ESV)

Are you going to try to see the eclipse tomorrow with the proper eye protection? We will get a partial eclipse in the Seattle area from just after 9am until 11ish. It kind of makes me nervous. We are going to don two of Dear’s welding helmets and sit on some lawn chairs  in our back yard and see what we can see. Time will tell how long we last…

Pretty as a…

Picture Lake!

On Tuesday when we reached Picture Lake there was a breeze that made ripples on the surface of the water so the reflections were not as clear as they could be. The lake has a very nice 1/2 mile trail all around it. Picture Lake is at 4100 feet with a postcard view of Mt. Shuksan, elev. 9,131 ft.

You don’t even have to hike in to enjoy this spot. We parked right on the road next to the lake.

The weather was just right for us this day with no need for a jacket. Our next stop and my next post from our time on the Mt. Baker Scenic highway will be from Artist Point.

Meanwhile back at this old house Dear continues on some home improvement projects. We have new closet doors in our Master bedroom. I’m hoping to sort through my clothes before I put them back into the closet and face reality on which I’ll never wear again. In the last 7 days our water leak got fixed, the shingles on 3 peaks of our house have fresh stain on them, our overhangs are sanded and repainted and we have new closet doors. I’m thankful for my hard working husband.

Our kids from eastern Washington are on the Oregon coast far away from their smoky skies and heat. They sent us this photo of the three of them at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Now they have to beat all the solar eclipse traffic to get home.

Love these three and praying that their long trip home goes well for all of them.

What’s going on at your house?