Tuesdays With Moisi

The Reception:

After the graveside ceremony we all got in our cars and headed to Fullerton for a luncheon reception at an extension of EVFree Fullerton. We are thankful for them allowing us to use their facilities.

Our brother Tim left the reception before we thought to take a sibling photo.  There are 8 siblings that have survived our parents. Seven of us were together for our Pop’s funeral gatherings. We have one brother who made the choice along with his family of 12 (wife, 4 children, their spouses, and 3 of our pop’s great grandchildren) not to attend and we don’t know why. Just keeping it truthful and real. I haven’t seen this brother who is a couple years older than me since 2009. They didn’t attend our mother’s funeral, either. I’m sure they have their story but it’s a bewilderment and causes sadness to the rest of us.

But…the rest of us gathered and were comforted with all our extended families and friends who did honor our dear old Pop and us by showing up and giving us hugs and encouraging words, grieving and rejoicing together.

Our parents’ grands and great grands minus about 17…

Dear’s side of our family. Bottom left is Dear with his only brother. One of his daughters, who was in Southern California, was able to attend the funeral with him.

A few more photos from my DIL’s phone. We had a good time of impromptu singing some of our favorite songs in Russian with a few of our former church buddies from the Russian Baptist Church in Los Angeles that we were part of for many years.

Josh with his cousins Hope and Andrew and his niece Addy.

Addy with her cousin once removed, our niece Debbee.

Starting next week Tuesdays with Moisi posts will begin to share the story of my Pop’s life that was given verbally by him and transcribed by a journalist from Russia.

This photo is of Pop barbecuing Shashlik (Marinated Lamb Kebobs) for his birthday party in the early 90’s.

Happy Tuesday y’all. The air is clearer in Northeastern Washington, woohoo! So thankful!

Before the Fires…

We were celebrating just across the water from where the Boyds Fire would start one week later. You never know what a day may hold.

Love this photo of our sweet Addy looking up at her Great Granny and Great Uncle Scott.

We have made trips back and forth across the Cascade Mountain Range from Western Washington to Northeastern Washington for every weekend in August. We know the route along I-90 and Highway 395 North like the back of our hands. Since the Boyds fire and other fires in Washington State and British Columbia started the skies have been smoke filled and unhealthy to very hazardous. This weekend was no exception. We left for Colville early Saturday morning and the skies were smoke filled from Seattle to Colville, 350 miles of smoke filled skies. It is disheartening to say the least. On our way back to the Seattle area on Sunday we started with very smoke filled skies in Colville to Spokane and then traveling west we had relief. We had rain on Snoqualmie Pass which was a blessing to experience. Here in the Seattle area the air is clear again and we’ve enjoyed some light rain.

We will be making the round trip again on Labor Day Weekend. Still praying and hoping the fires will be contained and that Northeastern Washington will experience their beautiful clear skies again soon. Looking forward to future weekends when we can stay put!

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

O Lord, Look Down From Heaven ~ Hymn

The Thames 106O Lord, Look Down from Heaven

O Lord, look down from Heaven, behold
And let Thy pity waken:
How few are we within Thy fold,
Thy saints by men forsaken!
True faith seems quenched on every hand,
Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;
Dark times have us o’ertaken.

With fraud which they themselves invent
Thy truth they have confounded;
Their hearts are not with one consent
On Thy pure doctrine grounded.
While they parade with outward show,
They lead the people to and fro,
In error’s maze astounded.

May God root out all heresy
And of false teachers rid us
Who proudly say: Now, where is he
That shall our speech forbid us?
By right or might we shall prevail;
What we determine cannot fail;
We own no lord and master.

Therefore saith God, I must arise,
The poor My help are needing;
To Me ascend My people’s cries,
And I have heard their pleading.
For them My saving Word shall fight
And fearlessly and sharply smite,
The poor with might defending.

As silver tried by fire is pure
From all adulteration,
So through God’s Word shall men endure
Each trial and temptation.
Its light beams brighter through the cross,
And, purified from human dross,
It shines through every nation.

Thy truth defend, O God, and stay
This evil generation;
And from the error of their way
Keep Thine own congregation.
The wicked everywhere abound
And would Thy little flock confound;
But Thou art our salvation.

Words: Martin Luther, 1524.

Weekend Roundup “H”

I’m early for The Weekend Roundup. I’ll add the link when it becomes available.

Starts with “H.”

House, as in our new house. We looked at so many properties and this one just seemed right to Dear and me.

We get possession on September 20th!

A Favorite. Hobby Horse

Addy looks quite pleased holding the “reins” on this hobby horse!

Horse: The famous White Horse from Banbury Cross.

When I was a school teacher we had a training session on how important nursery rhymes were to a child’s language development and future reading skills. So take that baby on your knee and have fun with all the nursery rhymes out there. Sing them instead of just saying them. I remember bouncing our three kids on my knee with this one. Now with our little granddaughter I’ve enjoyed bouncing her on my knees and repeating this rhyme.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes

In 2014 Dear and I visited Banbury in Oxfordshire specifically so that I could see this sculpture in the town center. You can read about this statue and some of it’s history in a post from 2014, Banbury~Oxfordshire

Thank you Tom for hosting The Weekend Roundup!

Hallelujah!

We are happy to announce that we are in contract for our new home in Colville, Washington. We will take possession on September 20th. Once it is ours you will see many more photos.

We are so thankful and so relieved to know where all our stuff will land. We will be 8 miles from our Colville kids. The driveway is level and the home is all on one level which is good for our aging muscles.

Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying and hoping with us. We appreciate all of you!

Tuesdays with Moisi

From our Hillside Chapel service we got in our cars and traveled the short distance to our pop’s graveside next to our mom’s in the Summer Terrace area of Rose Hills. Many of our relatives are buried in different sections of this Memorial Park.

Rose Hills Memorial Park was founded in 1914 by Augustus Gregg on part of the historic Rancho Paso de Bartolo land grant. Whittier Heights Memorial Park, as it was originally known, began as an 18-acre cemetery serving the burgeoning city of Whittier. … At its largest, the park once spanned nearly 2,500 acres. Today, Rose Hills Memorial Park covers more than 1,400 acres, making it the largest cemetery in North America.

Our 93 year old aunt, Pop’s sister was a real trooper hiking up this slope with help from her grandchildren.

Our two sons, Josh and Dan.

Our nephew Andrew giving his respects.

Hope recited the 23rd Psalm in English.

Our parents lie side by side. My mom’s headstone reads “The Lord is my shepherd;… and on my pop’s headstone to the right of my mom it reads, “I shall not want”.

Hope’s dad, my brother Leonard, read the 23rd Psalm in Russian.

My pop’s grandsons Caleb and Joseph gave the graveside messages.

Some of Moisi’s granddaughters.

Dear’s only brother with one of his three daughters, Annie, our DIL Jamie and Addy.

Jamie and Addy with Addy’s great great aunt Anna who is our pop’s sister and the last surviving sibling in our pop’s family.

We don’t shelter our children from death and funerals.

We always do our part in burying our loved ones.

From the graveside services we drove to Fullerton for a catered reception that our dear old Pop provided the money for. We are grateful to EV Free Fullerton for allowing us to use one of their large halls. Next Tuesday with Moisi I’ll have photos from the reception.

We Need Relief…

…from our smoke filled skies. Praying our fires are contained and no new fires start.

We left Colville this morning and we had smoke filled skies all across eastern Washington, central Washington, over the Cascade mountain range and into Western Washington. It’s sad to see so much smoke. It also is hard on the eyes, throat, lungs and sinuses.

“The Air Quality Index jumped from a 156 (Unhealthy) last night to a 202 (Very Unhealthy) this morning. Inchelium is at 203 – these are the worst levels in the State of Washington. Folks should stay inside with the windows closed per the EPA, or go to malls or other places with filtered air.”

Looking forward to clear skies ahead.

‘Twixt Gleams of Joy and Clouds of Doubt ~ Hymn

Oregon Coast 070

‘Twixt Gleams of Joy and Clouds of Doubt

‘Twixt gleams of joy and clouds of doubt our feelings come and go;
Our daily state is tossed about in ceaseless ebb and flow.
No mood of feeling, form of thought, is constant for a day;
But Thou, O Lord, Thou changest not, the same Thou art alway.

Out of the weak, unquiet drift that comes but to depart,
To that pure heaven my spirit lift where Thou unchanging art.
Lay hold of me with Thy strong grasp, let Thine almighty arm
In its embrace my weakness clasp, and I shall fear no harm.

Thy purpose of eternal good let me but surely know,
On this I’ll lean—let changing mood and feeling come or go
Glad when Thy sunshine fills my soul, nor sad when clouds overcast,
Since Thou within Thy sure control of love dost hold me fast.

Words: John C. Shairp, 1871.

The Weekend Round-Up~ G

Starts with “G.” 

Gramps with his Granddaughter.

A Favorite 

Our Mom and Pop’s grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Great.

Great Britain and The Cloisters at Gloucestire Cathedral. Great, grand and Gothic.

And a bonus shot from Gloucestire…

Linking up later today with Tom for The Weekend Roundup ~ “G”

No Yard Yet…

…so no new yard art for us.

Way Out West

On our last trip over and back again we finally pulled off of Interstate 90 to get a closer look at this establishment that has peeked our interest on every trip we’ve made to Eastern Washington. We had an empty trailer being towed behind our truck so it’s a real good thing the yard was closed.

The statuary farm at 11610 White Road is the best roadside attraction in Eastern Washington, if not the entire state.

The scores of items that face Interstate 90 near the Medical Lake exit are random and weird and strangely compelling. The whole oddball ranch looks like it was designed by Salvador Dali on acid, but that’s not the case.

This is the work and vision of a bearded and intense Spokane businessman:

Mike Ferguson.

“It’s all out of his brain,” said Ferguson’s brother, Mark, who owns 11 of the 21 acres here. “He knows how to barter. He knows how to make a deal.”

Mike named the place Way Out West, and I’ll second the “way out” part.

You can read more about this property and the owner here.

We are still feeling displaced and out of it, (out of this world). We are being taken care of well with a comfortable spot to lay our heads and few belongings that aren’t stored away in shipping containers (3- 8x8x20 of them). We are busy each weekend making round trips to our son’s home in Northeastern Washington where he’s opened up space in his shop to store Dear’s shop stuff until we find the elusive home of ours.

We leave on Saturday mornings and arrive Saturday afternoons, unload, relax a bit with hugs from Addy and understanding from her parents. We then travel back to this side of the mountains on Sunday.

You will all be the first to know when we find “the house” for us.