This was taken a month ago and I didn’t want to miss posting it on my blog. Happy Belated Birthday to Ember. A wonderful dog for our Grands!
Category Archives: Grandchildren
Addyson May’s Baptism
On Sunday June 25th our granddaughter Addy was baptized at the end of our morning service at First Baptist Colville. Our whole family and Addy’s Granny and Granny Great were at the service to witness Addy’s step in her new found faith.
Aunties and Uncles and brother all in a row. Gramps and Baba were across the aisle to have a better view of the baptismal pool.
Pastor David going over how Addy got to the place where she wanted to be baptized. First she was born again and then she wanted to proclaim it publicly through baptism. I love this sweet photo. We could barely see her whole head when she stepped into the pool.
Pastor lifted her up so everyone could see her.
Mom and Dad were looking on as were the rest of us.
We are so grateful for God’s saving grace and mercy on our sweet Addy May and praise Him for what He has done and will continue to do in the life of His little lamb. Baba and Gramps love you dear granddaughter of ours!
After the service we all gathered on Bayles Mountain for tacos.
Addy’s Mommy and Daddy bought her a sweet necklace with a cross, her initial and her birthstone. On the back of the cross the date of her baptism was engraved. I didn’t get a good close-up of the necklace. Auntie LoLo and Uncle Joshie got her a child’s version of Pilgrim’s Progress beautifully illustrated. Baba and Gramps also got her a cross necklace.
I’m trying out a new collage program and until I master it in my organization you’ll see some duplicate photos.
Addy and I were looking at her Pilgrim’s Progress Child version.
The kids stayed on at the Mountain but Gramps and Baba had one more event on this day to attend at church for our Pastor Candidate meet and greet. We were also in charge of the Ice Cream Social after the formal question and answer time Sunday Evening.
After the sunset walk the adults were able to get some card playing in while Addy and JJ crashed for the night. It was a long full day of excitement and celebration. Baba and Gramps crashed, too.
Katie and Andrew left on Monday morning to get back over the mountains and home.
On Monday before Uncle Joshie and Auntie LoLo hit the road for home at noon there was one more get together at a local park.
Another wonderful Family weekend that we do not take for granted.
I’ll leave you with this quote from a larger poem by Jean Ingelow, 1879. It was put to music by John Chadwick.
“I sought the Lord,
And afterwards I knew
He moved my soul to seek Him,
seeking me!
It was not that I found,
O Saviour true;
No, I was found by Thee.”
Back Then and Now Hodgepodge
It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and I’m recovering from a full to the brim extended weekend of activity. Joyce From This Side of the Pond has the questions ready and also let us know we will take next Wednesday off. Thank you, Jo!
1. What’s one thing you’re excited about in the coming month?
At the end of July we are traveling and joining several extended family members and friends to celebrate our youngest siblings’ 60th birthday. The party is at a ranch in Texas so we are getting our ‘yeehaw’ on and packing our boots and new duds for some line dancing and heat!
The picture above is of the twins at their 40th birthday celebration, a luau. That party twenty years ago was in Downey, California in our brother’s backyard.
My siblings and me twenty years ago in order of age. I’m in the middle in the dress. All of us but the brother in white will be traveling to Texas.
2. What was your life like when you were ten years old?
The Spring of 5th grade and beginning of 6th grade was when I was ten. I skipped 2nd grade. John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president of the U.S.A. Things were a mess in the world as they are now, too. 5th grade was not one of my favorites. My teacher, Mrs. Helm, seemed to dislike me. I broke my first and only bone in the 5th grade at school and my mother had to get a taxi to take me to the doctor for x-rays and a cast on my wrist. My 6th grade teacher was kind to me. He got me a job as cafeteria helper and I enjoyed a free cafeteria meal each day for my service. He also noticed that I was struggling to see the chalk board and suggested that I get my vision checked. It was determined that I was nearsighted and the distant world became clearer to me with my first pair of prescription eye glasses.
3. What’s something from your childhood you still enjoy today?
Music, watermelon, a double scoop of ice cream.
4. What state (that you haven’t been to) do you most want to visit? Tell us why.
I think it would be lovely to explore Maine and cross the border into New Brunswick and on to Prince Edward Island. From what I’ve seen in photos it is a beautiful part of our world.
5. Do you like to drive? Tell us how you learned to drive.
Yes, I do like to drive. I honestly can’t remember who taught me to drive but it was probably one of my sisters. I was driving before I got my official license. After I had my license my brother, surprisingly, offered to teach me to drive a stick shift using his VW bug.
The VW above was the first car I purchased through my credit union and payed off over the course of a couple years.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We are recuperating from a wonderfully packed weekend of events and celebrations. The highlight was our family being all together in church on Sunday to see our sweet Addy May get baptized. A full post with lots of pictures will be coming soon. On this weekend of her baptism we also had a Pastor candidate preach along with several meet and greet opportunities with him and his wife. Our church body will be voting on July 16th as to whether we will call him to be our new Pastor.
The Fragrance of Summer Hodgepodge
Summer is upon us and Joyce has come up with questions to get us ready for this season. Thank you, Joyce From This Side of the Pond.
1. Hello Summer! In the northern hemisphere anyway. What’s something on your summer bucket list? Do you have an actual summer bucket list? If not, use your hypothetical list.
I don’t have a summer bucket list but since we are traveling to Dallas for our youngest siblings birthday party (twins), I’ll be checking off going to Waco and walking about the Chip and Joanna dynasty. That’s been something on my radar to experience. My hypothetical list would include keeping cool.
2. What for you is the defining scent of summer?
Fresh mowed grass and throw in a campfire!
3. What’s a (music, food, wine, or flower) festival happening in your part of the country that you would like to attend if tickets/travel/timing was no object?
Hands down the Lavender Festival in Sequim. We’ve gone in years past and it is worth the effort.
4. Apparently a military whistle blower claims the US has a UFO retrieval program. What say you? Do you believe aliens are out there?
Only if you count Angels and Satan’s minions.
5. Besides your wedding day and the birthdays of any children you may have, what are three of your top experiences in life?
- Summer Camps in my teens. God was drawing me/calling me to himself and this time the Gospel became clearer to me and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Hume Lake Christian Camp in King’s Canyon, Sierra Nevada mountains.
2. Singing on tour, bringing the Gospel to schools and churches across Great Britain the summer of 1973 and 1974. Not only did these tours add growth in our walk with Jesus but we got the UK travel bug. Dear and I are the singers on the right.
3. Grandchildren!! So thankful to God for letting us be close to our two, Addy and JJ. What a sweet cherry on top of our lives they are.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Speaking of lavender, when we were in England in July of 2014 we came across these lavender fields in Broadway (Cotswolds).
This coming up weekend all our kids will be here because our granddaughter is getting baptized on Sunday (that will deserve a whole post next week). We also have a candidate for our pastorate coming to preach. There are other events going on for us to get to know him and his wife and see if he will be the one who God has chosen to be our Shepherd. Exciting times and a very full weekend!
End of May and Beginning of June
Things were so full and busy for the end of May and beginning of June that I wasn’t able to keep up with posting about all the good times happening. I’m re-capping here.
My sister and hubby arrived on Memorial Day and left for Montana on Wednesday morning. We enjoyed meals together with them and our Colville kids. Brother-in-law Steve was curious about a riding lawn mower and ended up mowing the front and back lawns while my sister and I worked on this puzzle.
These two went boating with their mom and dad and Addy caught her first fish on June 1st.
I’m guessing this was the icky baiting the hook part.
It’s always fun to be on the water.
Addy’s Mommy created this collage to document that first fish experience.
Our tree was felled on Saturday the 3rd of June. In the late afternoon our friends Bob and Jan arrived for an overnight. We met up at one of the Mexican restaurants in town and then came back to our home and enjoyed conversation until our eyes wouldn’t stay open anymore. After coffee on Sunday morning Bob and Jan left for Idaho and we took off to church. We forgot to take a selfie!!
On Monday and Tuesday the 5th and 6th the clean-up and cutting of the rounds began.
Our son came over on Tuesday morning with our Grands and while Baba kept the Grands entertained Dan cut the rounds with his chainsaw and then he and Gramps loaded the first of many trailer loads (it took 4 loads) to go back to Dan and Jamie’s. They have a wood burning fireplace and once this wood is seasoned they will have enough wood for a few years. The tree was 92 feet and the cuts are 16 inches. I think they had at least 65 rounds!
These two ran me ragged while we stayed far from the saw and noise. I didn’t get soaked like they did.
A fun day playing with the water guns and the sprinklers. Good thing their mom packed a spare set of clothes for them. She’s smart that way!
On this Thursday we had more tree branch clean up and moved the larger branches to the burn pile. I mowed the front and back and when we were done we got cleaned up and enjoyed another Mexican meal out.
The mosquitoes are so abundant this year. We had to spray ourselves with repellent. Ugh! This is the worst we’ve experienced since we’ve moved here.
I’ll share photos of friendlier flying things tomorrow or Monday! 🙂
As I type this we are having a thunder and lightning storm with some high wind gusts. Glad we got the lawns done early this morning. I think I’ll schedule this now just in case the power goes out!
A is for…
…Awana, Awards, Adorable, Addy, Auntie.
This past week we had Awana Awards Ceremony celebrating the end of the Awana year and Addy is modeling Auntie Katie’s dress from the late 1980’s! Our Cubby and Spark got their awards. I could only get good photos of JJ during the awards.
We are enjoying time with our kids on the Westside of the mountains. Friday we enjoyed a good Mexican meal together. Tonight we are having an early Mother’s Day dinner. On Sunday morning after church we’ll head back to Colville.
Hope you all are having a good first weekend in May.
Thirty Years Older…
After JJ’s 4th birthday party we celebrated this guy who is 30 years older than JJ. He joked about a trapezoid so he got a trapezoid.
Happy Birthday, Andrew. We are all thankful for you and glad God brought you to our family.
While family was in town we enjoyed digging through some very old bins of stuff.
Addy loved twirling in one of Auntie Katie’s dresses from years ago.
JJ gravitated to this infant sized superman t-shirt that he squeezed over his head and onto his body.
Some good conversations transpired.
More bin fun with Katie’s old Barbie and Ken dolls. Clothes and lots of itty bitty things got dumped on the floor!
Scary or Cute?
The plan was hatched between the ‘director’ above and the birthday dinosaur to scare all of us with JJ’s ‘scary’ transformation into a green dinosaur.
She was on the lookout and knew we were all in danger.
He appeared!! Cute or scary?
Fast and roaring!
After we were all sufficiently scared the dinosaur opened his presents.
Last but not least, his big boy fishing pole!
Finishing off the party with photos of his guests.
Don’t miss the dinosaur feet.
The party was a success of dinosaur proportions and we left for home to prepare for another birthday celebration in the evening. The cute 4 year old dinosaur had a nap and was ready for an evening of fun at Baba and Gramps’.
We love you JJ and pray that you will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God keep you and protect you all the days of your life.
So they don’t get lost over time here are the other posts from JJ’s 4th birthday party.
Dino Food and Fun
At JJ’s 4th birthday party after the T-Rex (AKA Uncle Scott) made his entrance it was time for lunch and before we start Gramps offers up a prayer of blessing for JJ to our heavenly Father.
I didn’t take photos of all the food. We had drumsticks, meatballs, little smokies, raw veggies and fresh fruit.
After lunch we played an outdoor game before we had cake.
We had a green team and orange team and we had to fill the little dinosaurs with water and try to fill a cup up to the line by squeezing the water out of the dinosaur.
Games over it was time for cake!
So many good sports with the dinosaur theme!
Sistersaurus and her Four-ocious brother made some plans to scare and entertain us before it was time for presents.
That post is coming next since this one is already photo intense.
The party continues on Monday and beyond!
Happy Friday and I hope you all have a good weekend.
Were You Invited, T-Rex?
There we were just hanging out at JJ’s Dinosaur party when Aunt Rhonda exclaimed dramatically that we all needed to go outside and see what was happening! We were all shocked to see T-Rex coming up the driveway.
Amber the dog went into full protection mode barking at this creature she was confused about.
Of course we all realized that this was Great Uncle Scott in costume. He gets the prize for this huge fun surprise at JJ’s Dinosaur party. Aunt Rhonda dropped him off down the driveway for him to get in costume to surprise all of us.
Uncle Scott gets on his knee to show JJ and Addy that it is him in costume. Time to re-create a little Jurassic Park action.
So much excitement and now we head inside to have our lunch and more dinosaur fun.
After the great effort on the part of Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhonda for this surprise at the party I think it deserves it’s own post. More party fun to come with some ‘scary’ action from a cute little dinosaur. This will definitely be a party to remember.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 