Missing…

…my mom and pop.

This is a photo of them at the family Thanksgiving get together in California. We were in Washington. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my parents in person. I hope to be able to see them soon. Aren’t they the cutest!?

Love is in the Air…

…and already stocked in some of the aisles in the local stores. I thought it was a good time to share about a fun party coming up just before Valentine’s Day.

Laurie is hosting this again this year. It’s a fun time to let the red, pink, and love flow freely. And speaking of love…

Here’s my sweet niece that I love dearly at Huntington Beach in California. I missed seeing her and the rest of my extended family this Christmas and New Year but at least I have photos to enjoy…

Carpe Diem ~

Seize the Day…

We are taking all the time we can to enjoy each others company for the days we have together right now. Tomorrow we are going to have our Thanksgiving meal early, all together, with 7 more joining us. The turkey is thawing. The yams, potatoes, gravy, green beans are waiting to be prepared. My sister is bringing the rolls and wine. Dan’s long time friends who became our good friends are joining us. Dave and Beth are bringing the pies. Jamie and Sarly are bringing their sweet babe. We’re going to make a champagne punch I saw on Susan’s Between Naps on the Porch. Josh and Laura will mash the potatoes since I’m still having a tennis elbow issue. Dear will carve the turkey. Katie will write the names on the place cards. I’ll make myself a note to remember to take photos. Life is rich.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!

Sunday was…

…as full as a bag of trick or treats!

Dear, Katie and I went to church and besides hearing a good sermon we were treated to a Violinist who was amazing. His name is Klinkenberg and he sometimes plays with the Celtic Women. He played a more classical piece and then at the closing of the service he fiddled a wonderful rendition of Jesus Loves Me. We bought his soon too be released CD called Fiddle-Levity! We had it on during lunch and really enjoyed it.

When we got home Josh and Laura had already arrived to enjoy a meal with us. I tried a recipe from The Pioneer Women Cooks ~ Tasty Kitchen blog called Sauerkraut and Pork that had been cooking away in the oven while we were at church. We all agreed it was very tasty!

Josh, Laura and I left Dear and Katie at home to handle the Trick or Treaters and we headed downtown to Qwest Field to see the Sounders play the L.A. Galaxy. Lots of the crowd dressed up for Halloween. These guys were one of our favorites!

Three Blind Refs! After the game we wondered it they were the refs that called our game.

Joshua’s red beard really made his leprechaun costume more authentic. :0)

It was a great night for a Sounders game and for Trick or Treaters with no rain drops falling on anyone’s heads. Too bad the Sounders didn’t win. That would have really capped off a wonderful day!

Today I headed out early for some physical therapy on my tennis elbow. It has been raining steadily and promises to keep raining all day and into the night. I’m glad to be home in my slippers enjoying the coziness of our gas insert fireplace…

I came across this verse in Ecclesiastes today and couldn’t help but chuckle and use it during this political season we find ourselves in! Out of context? Maybe, maybe not.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (English Standard Version)

“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right,
but a fool’s heart to the left.”

FFF ~ It’s all about Hope!

It’s time for Friday’s Fave Five. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in or visit more favorites.

Our little Miss Hope wasn’t named that randomly but because she was the result of the hope my brother and my SIL had for her to be born. My brother didn’t have hope of being married a few years back and I’m sure the hope of having a child of his own was off his radar. BUT ~ our God is a God of hope and because of His great mercy and love gave Leonard and Mandy a gift from Him and they named her Hope! Our mom’s name in Russian is надежда which translates to Hope. A very meaningful name. Leonard and Mandy married in their 40’s, a first marriage for both of them. They’ve been married for 4 years and little Miss Hope will be 3 in January. Last Thursday we flew to Dallas to have a visit with Leonard, Mandy and Hope. My favorites for this week are…

1. Seeing Miss Hope warm up to us over the course of our time there. At the beginning she only wanted to sit with mommy at the dinner table but soon she decided it would be fun to sit by Dear and me.

2. Watching Miss Hope and her lack of fear at gymnastics.

3. Having several good meals around the table with Leonard, Mandy and Hope.

4. Being able to have good conversations with Leonard and Mandy.

5. Every morning Dear was up first, then Hope, then the rest of us. Dear would be stationed on one of the couches in the family room with his back to the arm of the couch and legs stretched out on the couch reading. On the first morning Hope came out and saw Dear there and ran back to daddy and mommy’s room. By Sunday Hope decided when she got up that she would grab a book and sit on the couch opposite Dear with her back to the arm of the couch and legs stretched out on the couch and read. Too Cute!!

Hope to get around soon and see your favorites from this past week!!

Habitats…

While at the Dallas zoo with my brother, SIL, and niece there was lots of chatter about habitats.

It really is more pleasant to see an animal in it’s natural surroundings even if those surroundings are man made. The zoo’s newest addition was Giants of the Savannah. Both my brother and SIL spent some time in Africa last year on a mission trip and were excited to see this part of the zoo.

It was a fun challenge to keep up with the Little Miss…

We took a ride on the Safari Monorail to see some more habitats.

So many interesting animals to see. After we had our monorail ride we saw some feathered friends.

Our last stop was the children’s zoo and a ride on the pony!

Can’t resist…

…showing some more photos of little princess, Miss Hope!

My brother took these photos. We had a wonderful time in Dallas. We enjoyed being there for the excitement the state experienced with the Rangers winning against the Yankees! We got to see tornado warnings flash across the TV screen during college football. We heard the loudest thunder and saw some great lightning flashes. I’m again posting this from 30,000 feet in an airplane. We are almost over Pocatello, Idaho. My battery is just about done so I’ll catch up with everyone later on when I get home!

The Princess ~

We found out that there is a Princess party that Miss Hope is invited to on Sunday so I’ll be tagging along with my camera and I’ll be able to capture some clearer shots of her in her princess gown. We were at the Dallas Zoo today and I’ll post more photos next week.

A Hiking We Will Go…

During the time our company was here we decided we needed a heart pumping hike to take care of some of those yummy doughnuts we had been eating. We headed to St. Edwards Park and hiked down the North Trail to Lake Washington.

The way down was easy but it was downhill and we knew we’d have to come back uphill soon.

My niece Michelle and sister Lana stopped for all the obligatory Blogger shots.

Jackson needed a little piggy back ride on the steepest part coming back up the trail so daddy got double duty!

Thankfully the non-hikers barbecued steaks for all of us that evening.

Josh and Laura had not met little Miss Avery before this trip so they had fun getting to know her and she thought they were pretty cool.

Lavender Hills Farm

Our company split up last Friday for the day. The guys went to a Putt Putt Golf course and the girls headed to Marysville to Lavender Hills Farm. The girls made a stop on the way to the fields.