Category Archives: Family

Wedding Day Fun In California!

We started our day with an amazing breakfast at Nick and Vera’s. Then we all got our wedding attire on and headed to the wedding in Seal Beach, California.

The first two rows of the collage: (DIL Laura), (Josh & his dad), (Katie)

(Katie, Michelle & Laura),  (Brother Tim and Letty), (Melissa, Svetlana, & Kathy)

 

(Kelly & Steve), (Miss, Kathy & Michelle), (Dan, Ryan, & Michelle)

(The mother of the groom, Letty), (Dave, Kristin, Laura, & Josh), (The Groom Derek)

Mom & Pop

Some of their Grandchildren (The Young-uns)

The Beautiful Granddaughters and one old guy!

Some of their Children (The Older folk)

Dear and My Family

My Guys!

Here’s Amy the bride, Lana and Bridget!

Mother and Son Dance

Photobucket is holding hundreds of my photos hostage and that’s why you don’t see the original photos on this post.

Thankful Thursday ~ October 4th

  

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 ~

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Well it’s been quite a week and we’re gearing up for a celebration filled weekend. All of our children are flying into L.A. on Friday evening for my nephew’s wedding on Saturday. They’ll be here a very short time and we’re filling up a lot of that time with family get-togethers besides the wedding on Saturday evening.

I am so thankful to all of you who have been praying for our son Josh after his TIA episode last week. He’s doing well and he’s had 3 procedures/tests inflicted on him this week. He’s done with everything the neurologist ordered now and we’re waiting for the results/findings. Dear and I and Josh and Laura are very grateful to the blog world that is so willing and ready to pray for those in the body they have never met face to face!

Josh at about 14 months old, Easter of 1980

I am so thankful I will see each of my kids this weekend and be able to give them a hug.

I am thankful to Family and Friends who have been upholding us in prayer along with our bloggy friends.

I am thankful to God who upholds us, answers prayers, and gives us peace and joy.

I am thankful to my Savior Jesus Christ whose sacrifice for us on the cross opened up the door for our relationship with the Father and because of that we have the undeserved benefits that come with being a Child of God.

God bless you all with a wonderful Thankful Thursday!

To see more Thankful Thursday posts click on Sting My Heart.

Another Tuesday Dinner at Moisi and Nadia’s

Conversation between Moisi and Ellen b.

Moisi: “Hi Elyena (Russian for Ellen) you know what mom and me do?” (said with wonderful Russian accent)

Ellen b: “No Pop what did you do?” (plain old western U.S. accent)

Moisi: “We go to Rose Hills and make funeral arrangements.”

Ellen b: “Really?”

Moisi: “We choose Memorial Chapel not Sunrise Chapel.”

Ellen b: “Good choice Pop…”

So there you have it Moisi and Nadia are all set now. I’m sure this is a typical conversation y’all have with your folks, too. My parents not only have taken care of many funeral arrangements for friends and family, they have made their own arrangements so we don’t have to. They are something else…

On a lighter note here are some photos from the evening in Brea…

The four sisters who are off the hook in making the funeral arrangements…

 

Jackson the Great Grandson. (Michelle, I like how you’re looking up at Jack in this photo of a photo…)

Jack again (Hope you see these M. Lou!)

Michelle and Debbee (my nieces)

Oh and the menu… Pineapple Chicken with Basmati Rice, Seven Layer Green Salad, Chocolate Blintzes with Fresh Fruit and a Creme Anglaise drizzled poured on top.

Photobucket is holding hundreds of my photos hostage and that’s why you don’t see the original photos on this post.

Overwhelmed and Thankful

I’m overwhelmed and thankful to family, face to face friends, and friends I’ve never seen, who have poured out their support, love, and prayers for my son and our family. He’s doing well and is having follow-up tests. God created us to glorify Him in community and it’s in times like these that we see how beautiful community is. Blessings on each and every one of you. I’m praying that God would return the blessing I have received back to you. Have a wonderful weekend.  Ellen b.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 ~ “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

Ventura…Where it all Began, the Bayles/Spiro Friendship and First Hike…

On Sunday Dear and I drove North for a great breakfast at Allison’s Country Cafe in Ventura before we headed to the Ventura Fair Grounds Flea Market. The Flea market was row upon row of stuff,  Antiques, Shabby Chic, New, Old, Furniture, Chotchkies, Jewelery, Treasures and Junk…

The weather was lovely but we got toasted because we forgot our sunblock. Silly Washingtonians in California!

 

But the real fun treat was to see Two Trees. This was the site of our very first Bayles/Spiro Hike way back in early 1985. We know it was before Katie (Katherine) was born so Jamie was a wee babe…

 

I stood at this intersection to take the photo of Two Trees. That was quite the infamous hike with Dave, Jody (who we think had her arm in a cast), Lucy, Bridget, Jamie (a baby then), Dear, Ellen, Josh and Dan. Of course the first thing our boys wanted to do was to climb those two trees. We were never exposed to being outdoor type people till we started our friendship with the Spiro’s. We credit them with dragging us along on their outdoor adventures and teaching us the love of being able to tell the story of survival after the fact… God Bless them dearly!

Click to read more about Two Trees.

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Wedding Customs ~ A Look Back to the late 60’s…

These Photos were taken November 22, 1969. This was the day of my sister Vera’s marriage to Nick. I wanted to show y’all what we used to do to all the cars in the wedding party. We’d make these huge crepe paper flowers and string them together and decorate the cars. We’d use the colors that were going to be used in the wedding. The kids in these photos are my 4 younger brothers and sisters. Tim, Steve, Lana G! and her twin Leonard.

 

Lana G! has curlers in her hair. She and Leonard were the flower girl and ring bearer in the wedding…

One other interesting note was that it was very difficult to get our favorite florist to arrange and deliver flowers on this day because they were USC Alumni and huge fans and this was the day of cross town rival games so USC was playing UCLA.

Big mistake in my photo album experience is using these magnetic layered page albums that were so popular in the 60’s and 70’s that make your pictures impossible to take out and scan today….

 Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Another Happy Birthday at Julienne

Michelle of A Simple Sweet Life is having a birthday today.

 Happy Birthday Michelle!

Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle

Michelle, ma belle
Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
tres bien ensemble

(sorry couldn’t help myself)

Ryan and my niece Michelle

Jackson my Grand Nephew

Nieces Debbee and Melissa

Sister Lana G! and her husband Steve

 Sister Kathy and Ryan

Ellen, SIL Kelly, niece Debbee

Dear was with us too but my photo didn’t turn out but Michelle’s did so you can see Dear and me over there.

We drive, we eat, we laugh, we celebrate, Lana pays!!

We are blessed indeed. Thank you Lord!

ht: Michelle lyrics by the Beatles

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Awalt Menn (1919 – 2007) ~ A Military Tribute to a Well Loved WWII Veteran

“They have laid aside their armor
For the robe of spotless white;
And with Jesus they are walking
Where the river sparkles bright.
We have labored here together,
We have labored side by side,
Just a little while before me
They have crossed the rolling tide.”

From the Hymn The Lights of Home by Fanny Crosby.

This was a funeral of a friend of ours who was stationed in Iran during WWII and met and married a Russian gal in Iran who was part of our extended family. His wife who has survived him is my cousin’s aunt. In our close Russian community we would call most of these once or twice removed relatives of ours aunts, uncles and cousins…

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Moisi and Nadia ~ Celebrating 64 Years of Marriage!

  Because Thursday is my parents’ 64th wedding anniversary my thankful post is all about them…

Moisi and Nadia Bagdanov

Moisi and Nadia Bagdanov were married on Friday September 13, 1943 in Tehran, Iran.

My parents have been a wonderful Godly example to their children and community. They are still very much in love.  I thank God for bringing them together, giving them the vision to come to the U.S., and for showing me in word and deed what it means to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Today I’m overflowing with thankfulness for God’s gift to me in my dear parents!

A very Happy Anniversary to you Mom and Pop!

I hope to get to some other thankful posts late Thursday night or Friday. To see more thankful posts click on Sting my Heart.

 I’m off early on Thursday to Orange County to take my parents out to breakfast for their anniversary and then we are all headed to a funeral at 1 P.M. for an old family friend. We rejoice with those who rejoice and we weep with those who weep. This really is life on this earth for us. We’re thankful to be able to share the joy in the midst of the sorrow because our friend has laid aside his armor and he is finished with the battle…

Any photos missing from my posts are the result of Photobucket blacking out all my photos that I stored on their site since 2006.

Happy Birthday Dear ~ September 9th!

Happy Birthday Dear!

It’s been so wonderful spending so many birthdays with you. We all wish we could celebrate in person with you today. You are a wonderful husband to me and a great example to your children.

Here are some hats that Dear wears.

Husband, Father, Brother, Uncle, Pharmacist, Provider, Musician, Teacher, Mechanic, Painter, Carpenter, Scholar, Science Fiction Buff, Welder, Brewer, Listener, Servant, Plumber, Electrician, Builder, Great Friend!

Before Dear became a Pharmacist at the ripe old age of 39 he worked in a gravel pit in one of these…

Praying for God to continue to richly bless you and to give us many more years to celebrate together!