Katie met her cousin once removed for the first time this past Saturday at Descanso Gardens. After Avery gave Katie the initial critical look she decided this cousin was OK to be around.
Avery thought Great Aunt Ellen was OK, too, for short periods of time, if I kept moving, and there was something for her to grab, and if her mom or dad weren’t too far away…or her brother…or Nana.
We had so much fun. Isn’t that a cute skirt Avery is wearing? :0)
My mother went all out for us again. Katie and I were in the greater L.A. area on Saturday and Sunday and told my mom we’d pop in for breakfast. We weren’t surprised to be greeted with a morning feast. I’ve said before that my Mother’s Love Language is preparing food for people. I missed photographing the cantaloupe and strawberry plate that looked like a flower. She made Vareniki stuffed with potato this time and served them with asparagus with zest of orange and topped with grapefruit. My sister Vera and nephew Tim and his wife Jessica joined us. It was nice to enjoy a smaller group for a change.
Katie, Jessica and Tim
Katie with my mom and dad
From brunch Katie and I traveled north to the La Canada/Flintridge area of Los Angeles to meet up with other family members at Descanso Gardens. I’ll be sharing those photos soon. We packed so much into two days my head is still spinning.
O blessèd home where man and wife
Together lead a godly life
By deeds their faith confessing!
There many a happy day is spent,
There Jesus gladly will consent
To tarry with His blessing.
If they have given Him their heart,
The place of honor set apart
For Him each night and morrow,
Then He the storms of life will calm,
Will bring for every wound a balm,
And change to joy their sorrow.
And if their home be dark and drear,
The cruse be empty, hunger near,
All hope within them dying,
Let them despair not in distress;
Lo, Christ is there the bread to bless,
The fragments multiplying.
O Lord, we come before Thy face;
In every home bestow Thy grace
On children, father, mother,
Relieve their wants, their burdens ease,
Let them together dwell in peace
And love to one another.
Words: Magnus B. Landstad, 1861; translated from Norwegian to English by Ole T. Arneson, 1908
…I’m glad I had a place of retreat away from the Box Chaos…
And of course besides a nice retreat, good food with good company is comforting…
The condo was all emptied out by noon. Willow arrived with a hairdryer so I could speed dry the toothpaste I used to fill some holes. We went to the Panini Place in Camarillo for lunch then said our goodbyes. sniff sniff…
I headed to the Home Depot to pick up some super duper glue (clear) to fix some flooring issues and got a throw away paint brush to dab a little touch up here and there. I swept and cleaned up all I could without a vacuum. Before I left I lifted my hands in a prayer of gratitude to my great God who blessed me and Dear so richly during our stay in Camarillo. I didn’t lower those hands without asking that God would bring us a buyer for our condo soon.
I’m now in Fullerton at another hotel waiting till 9:30 to drive to LAX to pick up Katie. Tomorrow at 9:30 we’re headed to my mom and pop’s for breakfast… Vareniki…yum. My Mennonite friends will know what those are! :0) After breakfast we’re meeting up with more family members to take a little trip to Descanso Gardens. The rest of the day we will play by ear.
Hope you all are having a great weekend wherever you are.
Our niece Debbee ran in the Boston Marathon this morning!
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I just got off the phone with my Pop and he sounds good, tired but good. Anyone who has ever been in the hospital knows it’s not a great place to rest! They did an ultrasound and are waiting on doing a stress test. Some of the tests have come back negative.
So here’s what my Pop said to me on the phone. “You know Lyenah last night when I was awake I was thinking, I’m so thankful, so thankful for all these years and God never let us down. For whatever God did…all His blessings and guiding, for all my children, I’m so thankful. I cannot complain. I love you Lyenah. I love all of you. When God calls me home I’ll say Ok…”
Thank you so much for all your kind words of support and your prayers and well wishes. I appreciate them all. He’ll probably have to stay in the hospital one more night, at least. I guess he has a roommate who yells obsenites when he’s in pain and that’s not a great formula for relaxation for my Pop so I’ll be praying the roommates pain is managed better…
Just got this update from my niece Debbee after she visited my Pop this morning…
Hey everyone~
Just got back from visiting with Deda, he was feeling pretty good this morning, chipper and rested. He was able to sleep a lot last night, fell asleep during Jeopardy:), then woke up at 1, then slept again til 5 then 7. He was very thankful for the restful night of sleep and no profanity from the guy next to him. He said that his chest still feels a little heavy, but that it did feel better today:). He is still scheduled for the stress test this afternoon and hopefully can go home this evening. But if not, according to him, ” Que sera sera.” (I have no idea how to spell that) it was hard to hold in the laughter hearing those words come out of his mouth.
So, there is my update of the morning. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you all. Ok, back to work, 1st period will be starting soon.
Love always,
Debbee
Debbee is a high school math teacher. I’m adding these updates because I want to document this history :0). Glad God answered our prayers for more rest for my Pop and for his roommate having less pain and profanity …
Update 3/24/10 in the evening. My father is being released tonight from the hospital. Nothing in the tests show the need for him to be at the hospital any further. This afternoon my mother fell at the hospital and hit her head and ended up being propped up in my father’s hospital room with an icepack on her head. Oye! We are trying to convince my mother she needs to use a cane because of some hip issues that throw her gait way off. They’ll be happy to be home to take care of each other…
This was one of my first posts after starting my blog in 2007. My parents are a great model for what can be done in retirement. I wanted to share this since I’ve made lots of bloggy friends since 2007.
April 1997 ~ Moisi and Nadia
You’re 74, your wife is 73, you’re retired, what do you do? My parents, Moisi and Nadia decided to sell their house, many of their household possessions and move to Russia to start a Bible study ministry in a small village near Rostov-on-Don. They filed for a one year visitor’s visa and left with suitcases full of Bible study materials on May 6, 1997. They set up shop in a four-room home with no indoor plumbing. My dad is not an ordained minister. His experience comes from many years of following Christ sincerely, Bible study, service for the Lord, sincere love for God and God’s people. My mother loves God, loves my father, and loves to cook. They work together beautifully.
My parents were both born in Russia. When young, (1932), their families separately escaped out of Russia into Iran. They lived in and near Tehran, where they met and were married. My oldest sister was born there. My dad was not a believer when he married my mom. She was a believer and the daughter of a Baptist minister. Shortly after WWII they applied for and received permission to immigrate to the U.S.A. After arriving in New York they traveled to Los Angeles, where relatives set them up with shelter and work. Two more of my older siblings, myself, and four younger siblings were born to my parents. Twenty years into their marriage my dad accepted the call from God to follow His son Jesus as his Savior. This took place at the Billy Graham Crusade at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1963.
My brothers and sisters oldest to youngest. Kathy (who was born in Tehran), Vera, Fred, Ellen, Tim, Steve, Lana, and Leonard ~ 2003
My parents have faithfully followed the Lord in word and deed. On trips to Russia earlier in the 1990’s they felt the need of the lost sheep in this spiritually poor country. While visiting relatives they led a cousin to the Lord. She begged my parents to come and teach her the Bible. My parents prayed, listened, and felt it was time for them to go for longer than a 2-month visit.
A Bible study turned into a small church that met in my parents’ rental home. Up to 15 women started coming to church on Sunday. No men. They did not anticipate the response they’d get from the children in the village. Forty children came for Sunday School.
Many of the children came faithfully each week even though their parents did not come. Some of the fathers ridiculed their children for going. The Sunday School Christmas program brought out a lot of parents. Same for Easter programs. God kept opening doors for the men to hear the gospel, too. My dad was asked to speak at funerals where he always preached the Gospel, the Lord works in mysterious ways. At the end of their first year there were several new believers. My parents had to leave Russia in the Spring. Eight women wanted to be baptized before my father left. The lake was frozen and there was no baptistery in the village. The women insisted my dad baptize them in the largest bathtub in the village!
Cousin Natasha’s Baptism
My mom with her ducks and geese
My parents came home to the States in May of 1998. They had their medical exams and my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She had surgery to remove a cancerous lump and had radiation treatments for 6 weeks. She recovered well enough to encourage my father to make arrangements for another one year visa. They returned to Russia in October of 1998. They had a great reception on their return and their mission there was confirmed. They bought the house they were renting and turned it into a church with their small living quarters. They built an outdoor baptistery. They have gone back for a few months at a time since 1999. Their final trip was just last year. They went to encourage the existing church and make arrangements for a visiting pastor from a neighboring larger city to come in and teach this small group of believers. My parents turn 84 and 83 this year.
Comparing my folks from this 1999 photo in Russia with their 1997 photo above you can see the toll their two years of service, cancer (prostate and breast), and age have taken on them. They do not have any regrets for the time and sacrifice their service in Russia cost them. They are now living in a Senior apartment continuing in service for their Lord.
I leave you with this song, Remind Me, by Aaron Spiro and Carlo Furlan as a fitting close to this story of my parents.
Remind Me
When I’m old, remind me not to get stuck in my ways
When I’m old, remind me not to sit around day after day
’cause there’s a race to run that doesn’t finish at sixty
And I’m not giving up till I’m safe in your armsWhen I’m old, let me bring glory to your super name
When I’m old, remind me not to take your grace in vainWhen I’m old, remind me who and what I’m livin’ for
When I’m old, remind me not to hide away and double lock my doorI’ll rest in heaven, retire there. Let me run for Jesus ’till I get there.
Moisi (Moses) and Nadia have certainly lived their lives for Jesus and they haven’t stopped yet!
Moisi and Nadia ~ October 2006
ht: I Am, I Am, Kickin’ the Sky / Aaron Spiro & Carlo Furlan
I’m adding a current photo of my parents from 2010
My parents will turn 87 and 86 this year (2010)
My father has been experiencing some chest pains this week and I’m heading to Brea tomorrow to visit with my folks before Dear and I take off to Seattle on Saturday. If God brings my parents to mind please pray for them with these new pains my father is experiencing and as they are considering the option of moving in with one of my brothers for the next stage of their lives. I would rest better being 1200 miles away if they were living under the roof of one of my siblings…
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
The answer seems to be a lot. Not surprisingly most of the fun is centered around food.
On Tuesday night the ladies, Avery, Jackson and my dad had dinner together at Mom and Pop’s. It was good to get together. Avery is 5 months old already. Wednesday I met Willow for a pot of Earl Grey at All Things Tea in Camarillo. I ate a Cranberry Shortbread cookie, too. Wednesday night Dear and I ate at El Tecolote, one of our favorites in Camarillo. Thursday morning I’m meeting some of my sisters and nieces for breakfast and I’ll get to see Jackson and Avery again!
Don’t worry Avery, I’m sure someone will step in and there will be lots of fun things to do without me.
I’ve been busy getting the oil changed in vehicles, shutting services down, booking hotels for our trip up to Seattle, etc.
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
We invited family and friends over to celebrate our son Dan.
When our youngest little guest arrived she stole the show!
Just 9 days old here. She’s our son Dan’s best friend’s first baby.
Precious!
The new dad and Dan.
Jamie, Dan, Josh, and Scott
I managed to not get a decent photo of the mom…bummer! Hey Beth if you see this could you send me Sarly’s email so I can send photos to her…thanks.
Hope all is going well wherever you are…
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
Katie in my wedding gown in February of 2001. She is 16 here.
Our Wedding Day, December 6, 1974 ~ Ellen b. with her niece Jenna…
Our Anniversary is tomorrow and Dear is in New Orleans at a conference and I’m in Seattle. We’ll have to put off celebrating till later in December. Oh and that wedding dress…the only way it would fit now is if I cut myself in half.
Our tree is arriving today so you know what I’ll be doing for the rest of the day…
Have a great Saturday!
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 