She’s One of a Kind…

…and we are all happy to celebrate what she means to our families.

The collage above is of Laura’s family and our family getting together or sending greetings across the miles to wish her a very Happy Birthday. We thank God a lot that he brought our son and Laura together.

Before we headed back across the mountains for home we were able to gather with our westside kids and have a dinner in honor of Laura. We headed back to Josh and Laura’s after dinner to enjoy a pie I brought home from our Mennonite Girls Can Cook party the night before.

I’ll share more about this pie and how it made it across the line with me when I put together my MGCC party post.

We love you, Laura.

The Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace!

Today is Dear and my 44th wedding anniversary. We’re celebrating in a new locale and 1300 miles from where our journey began all those years ago.

He’s still the only guy for me then and forever.

Westside Celebrations

On the first day of December we made the drive south to connect to interstate 90 and east and over the Cascade mountain range to the greater Seattle area of Washington, about 365 miles.

Our oldest son and daughter-in-law welcomed us to their new home for the weekend with a beautiful suite for us to stay in.

Their home has been decorated beautifully by Laura and now the Christmas touches have been added for the month of December. We spent a quiet Saturday evening in their home.

On Sunday we saw them off for a fun birthday adventure with Laura’s side of the family and then we prepared for our trip north to Canada for the annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas dinner. As we prepared for our journey we had the revelation that we had left our passports way back in Colville. We were so sad to realize this mistake on our parts and started considering what to do. Since I have an enhanced license we decided I would make the 2-1/2 hour drive on my own. The roads and border crossing were great and the afternoon/evening was fabulous. It was so good to see the “girls” and their husbands again. While I was in Canada Dear was able to enjoy a meal out with our Western Washington kids!

I’ll share about the party and the rest of our weekend in other posts.

I watched the service for President George H.W. Bush on Wednesday. What a rich experience that was filled with reverence and emotion.

Have you ever read the lyrics to Hail to the Chief?

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation
Hail to the Chief, we salute him, one and all
(We salute him)
Hail to the Chief as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander
This you will do, that’s our strong, firm belief
(Our firm belief)
Hail to the one we selected as commander
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!

Hope your week is going well.

Farewell…

Taking the day off to honor and remember our 41st President George H.W. Bush. He will be eulogized by his son, our 43rd President George W. Bush.

Our childhood friend George Katkov is also being laid to rest today. Sorry to miss his service in Southern California. Thinking of the family and praying for them.

I’ll be back to share about our quick trip across the mountains later this week.

Backyard Birds

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

We are spending a long weekend on the western side of the Cascade mountain range. We drove over the pass on Saturday with mostly clear roads for the 365 miles. We are staying with our oldest son and our dear daughter-in-law. While here we are celebrating her birthday.

On Sunday I traveled north to Canada for our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas party/dinner. Dear was supposed to go with me but alas we realized we both forgot to bring our passports with us across the mountains. Oye. I have an enhanced license so I’m able to travel across the Canadian/U.S. border with that. It was a very sad realization that Dear would miss out on this event. I made the 2+ hour drive each way by my lonesome enjoying my new Lauren Daigle CD. Dinner and time with the “girls” was rich and wonderful. Lovella and her beloved created a beautiful setting for us all to enjoy. Everyone contributed to the meal and it was over the top delicious from the Charcuterie board appetizer, Potato Leek soup, plated salad, stuffed pork loin with noodles and gravy, roasted carrots, broccoli salad, fresh rolls and a beautiful layered cake dessert.

While I was in Canada Dear had dinner with our Western Washington Kids (WWK). For Monday we will meet up with dear friends for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant on this side and be able to hug our favorite waitress! This evening we will gather together with our WWK to celebrate Laura’s birthday. My take away gift from the MGCC party last night was a beautiful home made pie that Judy baked and we’ll enjoy that as Laura’s birthday “cake” after dinner. Photos to follow sometime soon….

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel ~ Hymn

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Words: Unknown

Quotes of the Week 6

My quotes this week are taken from the writings of George MacDonald and a current quote from a blog.

George MacDonald (1824-1905), Scottish Victorian novelist, began his adult life as a clergyman and always considered himself a poet first of all. His unorthodox views resulted in a very short career in the pulpit, after which he turned to writing in earnest. He initially attracted notice for poetry and his adult fantasy, Phantastes, but once he turned to the writing of realistic novels in the early 1860s, his name became widely known throughout Great Britain and the U.S.  You can read more about him in this article I’m quoting, here.

Here are some quotes from some of his books or from him…

The things that can be shaken, said Andrew, as if thinking with himself “may last for a time. But they will at length be shaken to pieces, so that the things which cannot be shaken may emerge as what they truly are. Whatever we call religion will vanish when we see God face to face.”

From The Landlady’s Master ~ George MacDonald

The Curate of Glaston, by George MacDonald

“But perhaps even then you had more knowledge which, they say, only life can give.”

“I have it now in any case. But of that everyone has enough who lives his life. Those who gain no experience are those who shirk the King’s highway for fear of encountering the Deity seated by the roadside.”

From Lilith by MacDonald, a book I had trouble understanding. This quote, however, I understood and stand convicted by it…

“I sighed – and regarded with wonder my past self, which preferred the company of book or pen to that of man or woman, which, if the author of a tale I was enjoying appeared, would wish him away that I might return to his story. I had chosen the dead rather than the living, the thing thought rather than the thing thinking! “Any man,” I said now, “is more than the greatest of books!” I had not cared for my live brothers and sisters and now I was left without even the dead to comfort me!”

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  ~George MacDonald

I definitely related better to his more realistic novels but I’m no C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. 🙂

A quote from the author’s of the blog Take Them a Meal about our Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations:

A beautiful cookbook for your coffee table as well as a practical resource for real life events. The cookbook includes devotional reflections, personal stories and recipes divided into sections to celebrate life’s events. A few of my favorite sections are recipes for celebrating birth, milestones, hospitality and a life well lived. Author royalties go to nourish children around the world.

Shared from the book, ‘When we face illness in the family, find ourselves housebound, or lose a loved one, there’s nothing more appreciated than a meal prepared with love and delivered to our door.’

This was fun to see on this popular blog called Take Them a Meal. Our cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations, is one of their 7 favorite gifts for 2018!

So Fast…

This little girl is growing so fast. It seems that now that we are much closer in distance I take fewer photos. In fact none of the photos I’m sharing today came from my camera. Oye.

She has some new skills like smelling her own feet after a workout with her mommy.

High fiving!

Scrunchy smiles for selfies.

Fun times bringing out the snowman décor with her mommy.

In my defense when I’m around her she wants me to play with her, not take pictures. When we are playing it’s hard to get a good photo. I’ll try harder. It’s easier when her aunts and uncles are around to distract her and play with her.

Although I’m a tad sad that she’s growing so fast, I’m thankful she’s growing up right before our eyes!

Wednesday Medley

1.  On November 28th, 1995, President Bill Clinton ended the 55 MPH nationwide speed limit that began in 1974 as an energy saving measure during the Mid-East oil embargo.  If you are old enough to remember this (I sure am) did it make you happy?  Do you have a heavy foot when driving or does 55 MPH sound good to you?

It made me very happy. I do have a lead foot and try to stay at 5mph over the speed limit…most of the time. I do go 20 or 25 in school zones. This is all with good road conditions. I do not have a lead foot in the rain, snow, or sleet! I slow way down.

2.  You are home alone on a rainy/snowy Sunday afternoon.  What Christmas movie will you watch?
Home Alone or Miracle on 34th Street depending on my mood.
3.  What is something you have tried that you will never try again?
Liver and Onions. I only tried it because I was served it and out of appreciation to our hostess I ate it all trying not to gag.
4.  Today is National French Toast Day!!  Will you have some?  Do you like French Toast?
I do like French Toast but will probably wait to have it for a weekend breakfast sometime.

PM1908

5.  The Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center will be lighted today, as will the one at the White House in Washington, D.C.  Do you have your tree up and is it lighted?  Have you ever been in New York City or Washington, D.C. to see the trees all lit up during the holidays?
I’ve only been to one Christmas tree lighting ever and that was in Seattle several years ago. No tree at our house yet. We will probably cut one down at our son’s or in a National Forest later this month.
6.  Tell us something random about this week of yours.
I have started Christmas decorating pulling out all the Christmas bins. It’s been interesting and fun finding new spots for old things at our Country Bungalow. Some things have been moved a few times to find the best location. We are still in the midst of painting so some decorating will have to wait. When our EWK (Eastern Washington Kids) were here last Friday Addy and I opened up her Little People nativity set for her to play with at Baba and Gramps’ house until Christmas.
Linking up with Terri in Florida for Wednesday Medley.

Tuesdays With Moisi ~ 12

Our Pop’s Story continued…

This is our Pop’s story dictated verbally by him a few years ago. I’ll be sharing excerpts every Tuesday. When I add to his story or explain a photo I will Italicize my words. Our Pop’s words will not be italicized. Our mom does not come into Pop’s story until “Tuesdays With Moisi ~ 9” even though I’ve posted photos of her before #9. I have very few photos from our parents’ life in Russia and Persia. At the end of my Tuesday posts I’ll add links to all the other posts.

The next day we went to the city of Guran in order to buy the wedding necessities.  When we were there, Nadia’s father pulled me aside and said, “Moisi, since we’re here in the city why don’t we make a quick trip to the doctors and have you checked out as to whether you can father children or not.”  I was again so embarrassed that I was looking for the proverbial hole to jump into. I answered, “Listen, if you’re not willing to accept me the way I am, let’s just forget about the whole thing and go back home.” (Ironically we had nine children – more than anyone else in my family). The fact that I was thoroughly offended got through to him and he backed off.  And so we bought the necessary supplies for the wedding and went to work on the preparations. We were married sometime in July but I am not sure of the exact date.

The very first Sunday after our wedding, we were on our way to church.  We had to pass the Baptist church to get to the Molokan church. As we came abreast the Baptist church, Nadia said, “Let’s go in.”  I declined saying that we should go to the Molokan church. We literally stood there for an hour arguing as to what church we should attend.

We finally ended up just going back home.  Why the argument? I was told I was to be the man of the house.  I was told not to forget the religion I was brought up in with its traditions.  I was told that if I attended the Baptist church, they would pressure me to be baptized and that would seal my doom.  So I was afraid of attending that church. Our first years together after marriage were not too pleasant because of our  disagreement over religion. Nadia’s faith was personal while mine was not.

We lived in Iran for four years after our marriage – two years in Rakhmanabad and two years in Teheran.  Our marriage improved somewhat in Teheran because I worked Sundays. This allowed Nadia to attend the Baptist church which blunted the sharp edges of our disagreement.  I worked first for the American military and then for the Russian military as a mechanic. Lastly I worked for a brick factory also as a mechanic.

Somehow when my parents filled out their legal papers coming into the U.S. they chose September 13th as their marriage date. We celebrated that day and our mom died on my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary, September 13, 2013.

This photo was taken a month before our mom left this earth.

Frozen Mosaics

We tossed a heavy rock into the middle of the pond to test the ice. It just gave a big thud when it landed there.

We found some new lighting features to help the dark corners of this room.

I made that simple needlepoint ages ago when we were first married. We are warm and cozy in our country bungalow despite the freezing temperatures last week. We’ve had a few days well above freezing now and enjoyed some blue skies and sunshine today.

I’ve started some Christmas decorating in the midst of Dear’s painting projects. Have you started any Christmas preparations?

Thank you to Angie for hosting Mosaic Monday.