Category Archives: Grandchildren

Before the End…

…of our Son in law’s tedious years of studying and writing and creating and presenting for his degree in Aeronautical Engineering tomorrow, I thought I would do a quick post recapping our time last weekend with lots of photos.

Uncle Josh and Addy at the zoo. Our kids and our friend’s kids went to the zoo on Saturday.

Uncle and Addy on the carousel.

Auntie and  Addy at our kid’s home. Addy and her parents stayed with our oldest and our dear DIL for this trip since our house is in another period of chaos.

After the zoo we all met up at Jamie, Sarly, Rae and David’s house for a barbecue dinner and fun in their backyard.

The sandbox was a fun discovery for Addy and David enjoyed it alongside his new friend.

Rae was a sweet hostess and took Addy for a ride about the yard.

Addy enjoyed sitting in the driver’s seat.

The dads gave their little ones some fun pushes on the swings.

David and Addy helped out by mowing the lawn and the putting green.

Some use golf clubs to get a hole in one, others take the easy road and just plop the ball into the hole.

The adults took turns helping the younger ones have a good time.

Help down the big slide was appreciated.

More help to zoom about the yard, too.

Loved seeing Katie’s purple hair amongst the purple blooms.

A great time with our dear friends who are family to us.

On Sunday late morning all our kids arrived at Baba and Gramps’ for our traditional family Swedish Pancake breakfast.

Addy got to see her pink kitchen that I bought a Goodwill for $1.79. I’m tucking it away for her to enjoy in the future when she’s older and can appreciate it more.

She enjoyed navigating our home again on very steady feet.

Some fun faces and a discovery of the tupperware lid drawer.

Our girls.

Our guys.

All of us together.

Till next time dear ones! It was a great couple days together.

Looking forward to Andrew’s graduation festivities on Friday and Saturday in the midst of us repainting our colorful walls and our kitchen the last few days. Oye, we are tye tye here at this old house. We are trying the neutral pallet to see if that will help us sell our home. Time will tell. Hope you all have a lovely weekend. I’ll be able to breath a sigh of relaxation come Sunday, Lord willing!

Glee!

We got to spend some time with loved ones Saturday evening and on Sunday morning. I’ll share more soon. A busy weekend. We said our goodbyes to these three a couple hours ago. They are driving over the mountains to return home.

Update: Head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook to get the recipe for Crockpot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup that I posted for today. I know it might be hot where you are but I enjoy soup in any weather and this is a good one to bookmark. I first posted this recipe on the MGCC blog almost 8 years ago! Happy Monday and my kids made it back home safe and sound.

First Things First…

Our little fourteen month old grandgirlie kept us on our toes during her waking hours. She is busy and on the move.

Baba had to have a little talk with her to let her know that it made me nervous when she chooses to stand on this toy instead of scooting on it.

It isn’t as easy to get good photos these days. As soon as I pull my big camera out Addy wants to investigate and try to grab the camera from me to play with. Baba and Addy spent lots of time with her building blocks and enjoyed “This Little Piggy”.

We are back home. We are still in the waiting room with our house sale and purchase of a new home. You’ll be the second to know if and when we have success on both these fronts. Can’t have one without the other, though. I’m asking God to give me more trust and peace in this waiting period.

As always on our visits to Colville I like take the current view photo from our kids’ driveway. Here’s our May 21st shot.

Soon I’ll share more photos of the Spokane river and a collage from our time at the Spokane Armed Forces Appreciation Parade that always takes place during the Lilac Festival.

Cheers! I’m getting caught up on the Royal wedding since our kids don’t have cable TV and I dvr’d it.

They Bloom…

…as if overnight!

Addy warmed up to Gramps and Baba with no problems. We are always pleased that she remembers us and lifts up her arms for us to pick her up. We were able to see first hand all the new skills that she has mastered.

She moves and entertains in motion.

Eating cheerios while walking.

Scooting on her (what animal is that?) giraffe?

Building…

She has the cutest way of saying she is done eating.

Trying to gather all the numbers from her number puzzle right side up and upside down.

We enjoyed our time again with our kids in northeastern Washington.

Meanwhile Spring is blooming in our western Washington yard!

Lilacs, Pear blossoms and apple blossoms.

What’s blooming in your corner of the world?

Stop to Enjoy Spring!

Enjoying the photos I was able to snap of Addy and this next one that our Daughter-in-law took of Addy with her trusty furry friend.

We are in the thick of it at home again. With our house on the market we don’t have a lot of down time at home and that means my time on the computer is limited, too. We have no offers on our home yet and we have not found a home in northeastern Washington to make an offer on, either. Asking for an extra measure of trust from the Lord. Our weather has been glorious since we’ve come home. It’s so nice to have sunshine and to see all the Spring blooms.

There and Back Again…

We had a fun visit with our Eastern Washington kids and our sweet grand, Addy May. She has lots of new skills and we enjoyed watching after her and playing with her. Dear and our son finished the improvements on the chicken coop while we were there and we’re calling it the The Chicken Palace or El Palacio de Pollo. After Eagles or some other creatures ate their old chickens they fortified the palace so the chickens will be safe.

Next visit I’ll take a photo of the Palace.

Hoping to catch up with some of you soon.

One for the Books!

A couple weeks before Addy’s first birthday party we had a little photo shoot. Turns out it was a good idea since Addy was busy with her guests, presents and cake on her party day.

We had a nice sunshiny day for our photos.

This is Addy’s Great Uncle Scott’s chair from when he was a little guy.

Fast forward to the party day and of course our little 1 year old must have sensed the excitement of the day and refused to take a nap on her own so we had to work out some sleep time creatively.

The guests arrived and kept Addy entertained.

She opened her presents with flair.

She enjoyed the Happy Birthday song and mooshed her cupcake covered with yogurt frosting.

Oops, a fair amount was rubbed into her hair. I didn’t take photos of the Baked Potato bar which had many yummy toppings. We were asked to bring a t-shirt or something like it to tie-dye for a party favor. I didn’t take photos of the tie dying, either, but the results were great and something fun to remember Addy’s 1st birthday with.

Meanwhile back at this old house we continue with the selling, packing and staging. Our first shipping container arrives on Thursday. Yikes! We’re finding some things that are bringing back some great memories. If you don’t hear anything new from me you will know I’m knee deep in boxes.

Centered Hodgepodge

1. What’s a word that describes your life? A word you wish described your life?

Centered is a word that describes my life and only because my center is Jesus. This doesn’t mean that life is not chaotic at times or sad or underwhelming but I’ve known since junior high who holds my life together.

Right now I’m waiting for my life to be more settled.

2. Back in my day we___________________________________?

There is so much I could say here, but… Back in my day we didn’t have hand held hairdryers, computers, cell phones, facebook, instagram, blogs.

3. When it comes to takeout are you more likely to opt for Italian, Mexican, or Chinese food? Does a typical week at your house include takeout?

Most regularly if we think about takeout it’s Chinese food. Delivery food is pizza. Typically we go out at least once a week for Mexican.

4. Think about the people you most respect. What is it about them that earned your respect?

Consistency and integrity. Living the life they proclaim. I appreciate loyalty, too.

5. What’s something your friends might see and say is ‘so you’?

Being straightforward and honest. Some might call it blunt. I think they could say I’m more apt to encourage instead of discourage.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

We just spent 4 days in Colville celebrating our 1 year old granddaughter. This is our goodbye shot, but soon we will be living in the same city with fewer goodbyes. Crazy and good!

Not so random but the next couple months are going to be filled with staging, selling, buying, packing, goodbyes, unpacking and wondering what where and how it will all come together. I do know that soon I’ll be sitting and seeing new views and meeting new people and moving forward centered in Jesus now and forever.

I’ll be linking up to Wednesday Hodgepodge From This Side of the Pond.

Happy Birthday Addy!

Today our little miss Addy is one year old. Wow did this year zoom by. It’s amazing to see the leaps in growth and development of our little granddaughter.

Happy Birthday Addy. Baba and Gramps love you dearly. We pray that God will bless you and keep you and give you a heart to follow Him. We are looking forward to your birthday party on Saturday!