Summer?

 

Oh where oh where is our summer?

I hope it’s arrival comes soon.

The flowers are bright.

But the weather’s not right.

Hope the sun will arrive by noon!

So how’s summer starting where you are? We are cloudy and a bit drippy with some wind. Instead of barbecuing yesterday for Father’s day we celebrated inside with breakfast for lunch since we had steady rain for much of the day. The kids honored Dear and we had a nice relaxing time together. What are your plans for summer? We don’t have any trips planned this year. We do have visitors coming in July and August and we’ll plan some summer activities with them. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Hope your week is a good one!

Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray ~ Hymn

Lord of the Church, We Humbly Pray

Lord of the Church, we humbly pray
For those who guide us in Thy way
And speak Thy holy Word.
With love divine their hearts inspire
And touch their lips with hallowed fire
And needful strength afford.

Help them to preach the truth of God,
Redemption through the Savior’s blood,
Nor let the Spirit cease
On all the Church His gifts to shower—
To them a messenger of power;
To us, of life and peace.

So may they live to Thee alone,
Then hear the welcome word, “Well done,”
And take their crown above;
Enter into their Master’s joy
And all eternity employ
In praise and bliss and love.

Words: Edward Osler, 1836

Isaiah 6: 5-8 ~

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

 

I am happy to announce that we are no longer owners of our condo in Southern California. We were beginning to wonder if we’d be able to sell it and then it sold. We closed escrow yesterday and the sale was recorded with the county today. We are relieved to have this deal close even though we were way under water and lost a lot of money. We will focus on enjoying the peace of only having one house to look after and one mortgage to concentrate on.

FFF ~ Enjoying the World…

This was a week filled with so many fun experiences that made me thankful. Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to join in the fun of Friday’s Fave Five.

 

What a week filled with so many wonderful experiences.

1. We met at the Brown Lantern Pub in Anacortes, Washington to eat and watch the U.S.A. vs. England World Cup Soccer game last Saturday. We were happy to come away with a draw. We met here because our afternoon Kayak tour started at 2:00 out of Bowman Bay near Anacortes. I called around to all the Pubs/Restaurants in the area to see who would be televising the game and who knew what I was talking about immediately instead of having to explain that World Cup Soccer was happening! It was fun to experience the game with our family and the crowd of soccer fans in the Pub. Oh…and the food was really good, too.

2. Our Kayak trip was the next favorite. A brand new experience for me and it was great. My fears of rolling the kayak were soothed when I got the feel of the boat in the water.

3. Katie’s graduation on Sunday was a milestone to be thankful for. I cannot tell a lie, though, the ceremony was boring and long and we were glad when it was over. The best part was seeing Katie walk across the stage and going out to celebrate afterwards.

4. Dear put up a hummingbird feeder and I’ve really enjoyed seeing these little birds out my computer window.

5. Enjoying the World through soccer is my last favorite. I’ve watched most of the World Cup games. The games that start at 7am and 11:30 am have been easier to catch but I have managed to see a little of the 4:30 am games, too. Dear gets up really early and he was walking out to the shop at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and he saw lights on at our Korean neighbors house then he heard loud cheers and realized they were watching the South Korea game and that a goal was scored. We really caught the World Cup Soccer Bug in 1994 when the U.S.A. hosted and we were able to attend some games and meet the U.S.A. players.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

World Cup 1994!

 

With World Cup 2010 in progress right now in South Africa I decided to dig up our photos from the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. The kids and I flew down to Southern California and stayed with my parents for the duration of World Cup. Josh was able to get a ticket package for the Rose Bowl venue and we were able to buy 2 tickets for the Brazil vs. Cameroon game in San Jose at Stanford. Dan and I traveled to Stanford to see that very colorful game.

This is Alexi Lalas with Josh and Dan. We found the hotel where the U.S.A. team was staying and training.  Josh and Dan got every players signature on the team poster. They also managed to get all the coaches signatures but one. The players were all friendly and willing to talk to the boys and sign autographs. What an exciting and fun experience for Josh and Dan and me!

Dan at Stanford. We found a shop that had a Brazilian flag and bought it for the game. Brazil brings a  party atmosphere to soccer games that’s hard to beat.

Participating in this historical event was a thrill for our family.

1994 was the first time the U.S.A. hosted World Cup. We are hoping the U.S.A. is chosen for the 2018 World Cup. 2014 will be hosted by Brazil. So are any of you watching World Cup 2010?

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Yard Art Inspires…

…me to walk around different streets in my Barrio…

This one looks real from so far away. I zoomed in to get this shot.

I don’t know how many more winters this will survive.

To see more Yard Art please visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Messing About in Boats…

” O God, Thy Sea is so great and my boat is so small.”

“Only the guy who isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat”  Jean Paul Sartre

“We are all in the same boat in the stormy sea, and we owe each other a terrible loyalty.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats” ~ Rat from The Wind in the Willows

“A person should go out on the water on a fine day to a small distance from a beautiful coast, if he would see Nature really smile.  Never does she look so delightful, as when the sun is brightly reflected by the water, while the waves are gently rippling, and the prospect receives life and animation from the glancing transit of an occasional row-boat, and the quieter motion of a few small vessels.  But the land must be well in sight; not only for its own sake, but because the immensity and awfulness of a mere sea-view would ill accord with the other parts of the glittering and joyous scene. ” ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

“He that will learn to pray, let him go to sea.”  ~George Herbert

“Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them.” ~ Psalms

“So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis


The sea hath no king but God alone.  ~Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The White Ship

We really had a lovely 3 hours out on the water on this beautiful day. For most of us this was our first kayaking experience and now that we know what to expect we hope to go out again with a little experience under our vests. Hope you enjoyed the quotes I found for this post. This trip was out of Bowman Bay in the State of Washington close to Deception Pass. Thanks for stopping by today.

I’m linking up with Susan at The Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

He Pampers Me…

and puts up with my whimseys.

 

I told him I really needed a Hummingbird Feeder outside my computer window.

 

So he got out his ladder and tools and came up with a way to hang  the feeder so I could see it outside the window.

Perfect…just at the right height for me to see the Hummingbirds come and feed. Now we wait…

What’s that looking at me?

 

Such beautiful fast little birds.

 

 

 

 

I’m so happy for these little wonders to come and visit and have a sip before they speed off again!

I’m linking up with Mary at Work of the Poet for Ruby Tuesday since my feeder is ruby. I hope to catch a photo of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird soon.

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.

Another Milestone Completed…

 

On Sunday our daughter Katie walked at her Graduation Ceremony from the University of Washington Bothell.

 

We found our seats and hoped we were on the right side of the arena but we were on the opposite side so we really had to zoom in with the cameras to spot her in the crowd.

 

We found her and she saw us!

 

She received her empty graduation degree certificate holder and soon the very long ceremony would be over.

 

The happy graduate with her boyfriend Andrew.

 

The proud parents.

 

Josh and Laura with little sister Katie.

Katie and her boyfriend Andrew visiting from Florida. Andrew starts Marine Bootcamp on June 28th.

 

The family shot. Our son Dan was not able join us for this occasion. We’re looking forward to seeing more of him at the end of the year when his training is complete and he comes back to Washington.

We had a nonstop weekend and I have a lot of photos to share. This is another busy week as well and we hope to get a breather soon…

Photobucket replaced all my photos with ugly black and grey boxes and they are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.