Category Archives: Grandchildren

Older than Hodgepodge

 

It’s time for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Jo has come up with new questions for us to ponder and answer.

1. What’s one thing you learned at the ripe old age or whatever age you are now?

Not everyone who calls themselves Christian is a true believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. I read here a list of foods that can help you look younger-

extra virgin olive oil, green tea, fatty fish, dark chocolate, vegetables, flaxseeds, pomegranates, avocados, tomatoes, spices, bone broth

How many of the foods listed have you tried?

I’ve tried all on the list and now I avoid all green tea because it does not have a good effect on my digestive system, weird. Flaxseed only in certain breads by accident. 🙂

How many do you eat regularly?

Most regularly would be avocados, tomatoes, spices, vegetables and dark chocolate.

Your favorite from the list?

Avocado on toast, in an omelette, in a burrito, in a salad, BLTA, guacamole and chips and avocado mango salsa.

3. Something you miss from the ‘good old days’?

Traveling without security lines and other restrictions. The good old days when we could walk right up to the gate and welcome someone home or have someone walk right up to the gate and say their goodbyes.  Freedom to move about freely without thinking about my safety or of being blown up.

When were the good old days anyway?

Right now I’m thinking the good old days were before COVID-19. I’m missing the abundance of choices for restaurants and the shopping with ease (no masks required). The days that we could plan a trip to Great Britain and enjoy moving about the country with no restrictions.

But…I think in every stage of life we experience good days and not such good days.

4. What are two or three of the most rewarding things to be found in growing older?

Being older afforded us the joy of grandchildren and that is a wonderful reward.

Being older and retired gives us more freedom in our days. Hectic schedules are few and far between.

5. What’s your favorite part of your life right now?

Good relationships with our adult children and our grandchildren and that our children all get along without us, too!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We along with much of the West Coast have experienced oppressive smokey skies that have brought activity to a standstill. We are looking forward to some winds from the North instead of the South and some rain later this week in hopes that the skies clear.

Our front yard looking north. The left is from August 31st and the right is on September 12th.

On Tuesday things were looking better…

Praying for our Firefighters and First Responders and for those who have lost their homes. Also praying for the two police detectives ambushed and shot in the face in the L.A. area on Saturday.

Cinderella and Her Helper…

On Saturday morning our son Dan came over with Addy and JJ bright and early with their breakfast in tow. Dan was helping Dear prepare the Shop pad for cement by putting down the vapor barrier and then putting the re-bar on top in a grid pattern and fastening it to stay in it’s grid. I’ll show photos later. The point of this story is that Addy, JJ and Baba had to fill our time together with activities. From the photos you’ll see that some may feel I over worked my two young grandchildren.

Believe it or not the three of us managed to mix up banana bread batter and get it into the oven without any “major” mishaps. We did have flour to vacuum up!

JJ only managed to get a little taste of flour in our preparations. Addy was a big help by finding the cup measures and teaspoons, etc. that Baba asked her to fetch while supervising JJ with her eagle eyes so he would be safe on the chair and wouldn’t drop too much flour on the floor. Addy measured out the ingredients except for the salt. I cracked the egg. They both are hands on helpers. They both enjoyed “washing” the dishes. Shh…don’t tell them that I re-washed them all after they left for home.

Vacuuming was the favorite activity of the morning for JJ!

We all had to stay inside the last few days because of the unhealthy air quality from the smoke from the fires on the whole West Coast!

Hope you all have a good week ahead.

Celebrating Gramps!

On the morning of Dear’s birthday September 9th our Daughter in law sent a text with these photos of Addy, JJ, and Rayna wishing Gramps a Happy Birthday. Love that Addy is singing in the first photo.

We were invited for dinner at their home on the day and enjoyed Lengua Tacos. Delicious. It wasn’t easy capturing a photo of the three of them.

The day after Dear’s birthday we headed to Chewelah for Mexican and we were treated royally by our favorite waiter.

On 9/11 this was the view of the horrible air quality in Seattle taken by one of the news agencies. Can you find the Space Needle? Our air quality in Northeastern Washington isn’t good either but it is not this bad…yet. They say we are in for the smoke coming our way from California and Oregon. We are all praying the the fires (so many of them) can be extinguished and that we can get some precipitation to clean the air. The West Coast is burning. Good time to consider your eternal destiny.

This morning Dan and the Grands are coming over. Dan will be helping Dear prepare the shop pad for the cement pour by laying the vapor barrier and the re-bar. I’ll be watching Addy and JJ while that work happens.

Morning Visitor

Outside, inside, all around the yard. JJ and Baba had fun for several hours on Friday while mommy and Addy joined Granny and Granny Great to help at their garage sale. Sales went well and not having charming, busy JJ made life easier on everyone. Addy had a great time selling things and people even offered her change just for being cute.

Hope y’all are having a good Labor Day Weekend.

Kind/Kindness

It is Tuesday August 25th and a special day in our family. Today Josh and Laura are celebrating 19 years of marriage! The word for today is Kind. You can also use kindness.

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Share your verse/verses in the comments and I’ll add them here.

From my sister Vera:

“Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭11:22‬ ‭NASB‬‬

From Maristella:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Colossians 3:12 | NIV

From Anneliese:

A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. Proverbs 11:17

From Happy One:

Genesis 1:25 KJV

And God made the beast of the earth after his KIND,
and cattle after their KIND,
and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his KIND:
and God saw that it was good.

From Pat:

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Luke 6:31

Josh and Laura love their niece and nephews and are very kind to them.

It’s a blessing from God that our kids are kind “one to another”.

Can you tell they are brothers?

They are also kind to their friends who are our friends, too.

Happy 19th Anniversary to you Josh and Laura. We love you and thank God for who you are in Him individually and together!

Bread & Low Tide Adventures

August 21st brings us to the word Bread.

Deuteronomy 8:3:

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

From Patsystitch:

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

From Maristella:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 | NIV

From Happy One:

Luke 4:3 & 4 KJV

And the devil said unto him,
If thou be the Son of God,
command this stone that it be made BREAD. 

And Jesus answered him saying, It is written
That man shall not live by BREAD alone,
but by every word of God.

Remember to leave the verse/verses you pick in the comments and I’ll add them here. Thank you.

Our kids had a shore day exploring low tide.

Our grands and our son’s best friend’s kiddos.

I managed to mow all our acreage yesterday. It was a cooler day which made that an easier chore. Dear finished painting our back deck. It looks so much better. Have a great Friday everyone!

Bless, Blessed, Blessings

Today is August 20th and our word for today is Bless. Our Pop’s favorite Psalm was 103 and I’ll share a portion of it here.

Psalm 103:1-5:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your (spiritual) diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like eagle’s.

From Maristella:

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 | NIV

From my sister Vera:

 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:3-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From Happy One:

Luke 6:28 KJV

BLESS them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

As usual please share a verse in the comments so that I can copy and add it here. Thank you in advance.

Our kids continue to enjoy each other on the Coast and we get pictures via texts. It’s so good to see the photos of how they are enjoying life with each other. A blessing for them and for us watching from afar. Thank you Lord!

Uncle Joshua and Jaymison Joshua!

Addy and her Aunt LoLo!

Have a great Thursday everyone. Today is mowing day for me!

Angels and Family

Today is Tuesday August 18th and our word prompt is Angel. When I put in Angel for a word search in the Bible at Bible Gateway it showed 282 results! I’ll share one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Psalm 103:20

Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

Matthew 13:49:

So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous.

From Maristella:

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 | NIV.

From my sister Vera:

 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

From Patsystitch:

Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.

From Happy One:

Hebrews 13:2 KJV

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers:
for thereby some have entertained ANGELS unawares.

It was enlightening to look up verses about angels.

If you found a verse or two or section to share add it in the comments and I’ll share them here.

The photos I’m sharing today all came from our daughter in law, Laura. The photo of the two angels guarding the door is from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

The marble, bronze and gilt bronze monument takes the form of two larger-than-life white marble figures of angels, at either side of a black marble and gilt bronze door over which is inscribed, from the Easter Even Collect, “Through the gate of death we pass to our joyful resurrection.” The Viscounts are separately identified on the elaborate panels on each half of the door, to which crests, the family motto “Virtute et Fide” (“By Virtue and Faith”) and the following poignant biblical texts are added: “Until the day break and the shadows flee away” (from the Song of Solomon 2, 17) and “They that dwell under his shadow shall return” (from Hosea 14, 7). This unusual monument stands in the first recess of the north aisle of the nave.

And now some photos from our kids together on the “Coast” this week.

Addy was counting down the days to see Uncle Joshie and Auntie LoLo.

Auntie and Uncle thought ahead and bought some fun outdoor stay cool toys!

JJ is a fan of water!

Addy loves to play with Uncle Andrew and Auntie Katie. Hope they can keep up with her.

A special little spot to sleep with her little stuffed friends by her side.

I sent along these new face masks for the girls to enjoy straight outta Russia! Love the little photo bomber!

We continue in a hotter pattern here in the Northeastern corner of Washington State. Hope you are keeping cool.

Mercy

Today is August 13th the our Bible Verse Prompt is Mercy. Where would we be without God’s mercy?

1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

From Maristella:

 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 | NIV.

From Patsystitch:

Lamentations 3:22 God’s mercy is bigger than any mistake that you’ve made. His mercy is new every morning.

From Happy One at Life is Good:

Psalm 86:5 KJV

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive;
and plenteous in MERCY unto all them that call upon thee.

From Cheryl:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

If you have a verse to share please share it in the comments or on your blog and I will copy it and include it here.

JJ and the chickens. He thinks he’d like to get in there and check them out but that would not be prudent. Here’s Addy trying to catch a sunbeam from the sunset last night. (Photo Credit to her mom and dad)