Tag Archives: Family

Air Show Surprise…

I mentioned before and shared that when we were in Southern California for Levi and Kristin’s wedding we made a morning trip on the day of the wedding to the Riverside National Cemetery to find Dear’s dad’s grave. While we were there visiting all the amazing memorials and monuments we were treated to the Patriot’s Jet Team who were performing at the nearby March Air Force Base. What a special treat this was…

We were standing here and looking up at the Patriots and Laura said “Now all they need to do is form a heart for Levi and Kristin since it’s their wedding day” and sure enough just after she said that this is what we saw!

We were quite impressed that they could hear Laura’s request from so high up in the sky.

This was a wonderful family time and we appreciated everything we experienced together this day. We missed Dan and Andrew this time but we will have other special times with them. We trust the Lord for that…

This is going to be a short week at home for us. Here we are in the last week of May already! Yikes! How are things going where you are?

A Time to Remember…

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in service to insure our freedom. Dear’s father Rex served in the army during WWII. He was not among the countless number who lost their lives during service but we are very grateful to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Our son in law Andrew is serving as a Marine and our appreciation grows daily for the all of the men and women who serve our country in the military. As we speak Andrew is involved in Fleet Week in New York. We hope our military are treated well on the streets of New York. I’m adding this link from Pat at Mille Fiori that she posted from Fleet Week and she captured two great shots of the ship our son-in-law Andrew is on, the U.S.S. Wasp. Semper Fi! And for the record from what we’ve heard from Andrew, New York has been very welcoming to our boys!

Dear’s father Rex’s service in 1985 was under a pavilion at the Riverside National Cemetery and we had never had a chance to visit his actual graveside. When we were at our nephew’s wedding last weekend we had a chance to visit the cemetery and find Rex’s graveside. We do not have a family tradition to spend time at gravesides as we hope in the fact that our loved ones are not here but with the Lord. It was still a good experience to finally see Rex’s gravestone.

The cemetery has a kiosk where you type in your loved ones name and they print out a site map on where you can find the graveside. We were impressed with how easy it was to find Rex’s buriel site. Here is a link to a post on the moving memorials featured at the Riverside National Cemetery.

Even though we know our loved one who is identified with Christ is not in this grave, it’s still gratifying to see what a peaceful setting his gravestone is situated in.

The whole time we were at the cemetery we kept looking up because there was an airshow at March Air Force Base which donated land for the Riverside National Cemetery and is adjacent to the cemetery.

After a hike and some good scouting by Dear and our daughter Katie we found Rex’s gravestone.

It really was good to finally see where Rex was buried. I was 7+ months pregnant with Katie for Rex’s funeral and a lot of this time was sketchy for me.

This was a very nice family time for us all in between all the fun celebration time with our extended family for our nephew’s/cousin’s wedding. While we were at the cemetery we had the wonderful experience to enjoy some amazing aerial views from an airshow at March Air Force Base.

From the cemetery we met up with extended family for lunch at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Moreno Valley. What a great weekend it was to connect with family and get a special weekend time with Katie from North Carolina.

I’m joining in with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Hope all of you in the U.S.A. have had a moment to stop and consider and appreciate the memory of those who have laid down their lives for us…

A very meaningful Memorial Day to all of you!

Family Joining Together…

Psalm 1 (ESV)

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

 This was the passage that Levi and Kristin chose for their wedding. My brother Steve used this Psalm for his wedding charge to them.

My sister in laws family

The Bride’s family

I couldn’t end my wedding posts without showing you the fancy shmancy porta potties that were on site. They are called Royal Restrooms. You can see I was impressed as I took a photo of the outside and inside. There even was a carpet inside…

Today is my Father’s 89th birthday. Happy Birthday Pops! Psalm 1 is something you have modeled for your family! Thank you for choosing righteousness.

No Need to Rehearse…

…a wonderful meal!

After the wedding ceremony rehearsal we were treated to a wonderful evening of good food and fellowship. Our nephew Levi married Kristin this past weekend in Nuevo, California. Nuevo is a rural community located east of Los Angeles and Lake Perris in Riverside County. It’s a rocky, hilly area with low lying valleys. But enough geography lets get back to the main event…

My sister in law Kelly is such a creative patient soul. She put together great decor and food presentation to honor the personalities of her son and new daughter in law. Steve worked hard leading up to the event with outdoor improvements on the yard. There were many trips to Home Depot this past month or so…

The main event happened in their backyard but the inside was beautifully coordinated with the theme of country casual.

It can be a little windy in the valley so Kelly anchored down the bandana hanky table cloths with books. The bride is a published poet so a lot of the books were poetry collections. Kelly and Steve have both fostered the love of books, reading, and learning with their 4 boys and so this was another great creative touch to the decor. Kelly sewed the tablecloths.

Country touches with galvanized buckets to hold the drinks. Kelly used mason jars for a lot of the decor and food presentation. She filled mason jars with ice and lemonade and put the lids on them. They were put in the bucket filled with ice to keep them cold along with other drinks for the evening. Straws were available for all the drinks, too.

They lined the bucket with plastic…

The menu was Middle Eastern with Falafel, Humus, Tabuli, Pita, and Shepherds salad.

Part of the dessert was baked and served in mason jars, too. An assortment of mason jar pies and cheesecake and brownies.

The evening ended with Levi and Kristin acknowledging each of their wedding party and the impact they have had on their lives and also a thank you to each of their parents for all they have done for them.

We returned home from Southern California on Sunday night full of all the experiences we had over the weekend. I’ll share more as the week goes on. It was so good to see our daughter Katie. We had a special family time on Saturday morning before the wedding with Josh, Laura, Katie, Dear and I. I’ll be sharing that experience soon, too. We were sorry Dan and Andrew couldn’t attend the events of the weekend but duty calls!

My mother is doing so much better than she had been for months. She is so pleased with the results she has gotten from her cortisone shot in her hip. She has mobility that she hasn’t had for quite a while and the relaxed smile on her face says it all.

Look Ma…no Jacket!

We had our first evening Sounders Soccer game that I did not have to have several layers of warmth on my body this past Saturday! The sun was shining, the crowd was rowdy, but our team went down in defeat. The only downer on a very wonderful day!

All day in the sunshine. A 5K in the morning. Putting up deck structures in the afternoon. Dinner downtown before the game. We were all yawning during the 2nd half of the game! Absorbing vitamin D is hard work!

Going to the Dentist today so hopefully I can say “Look ma, no cavities, too!”

Can’t leave without showing you how thoughtful my kids are…

A basket full of treats that were personalized about things that bring me joy from Josh and Laura.

Flowers on my doorstep from Katie and Andrew all the way from North Carolina.

Daniel sent me a gift certificate for a local salon and I’ll be booking a massage real soon.

Dear pampered me all day beginning with home made eggs Benedict that were delicious!

Blessed to the brim and I don’t take it for granted…

Have a great week y’all.

All the B’s…

My maiden name started with a B and my married name starts with a B. Dear only has one brother and I have 4 brothers and 3 sisters. My B’s way outnumber Dear’s B’s so I wanted to devote a post to Dear’s side of the family. Dear’s brother has 3 beautiful daughters. They live in Southern California and in New York. We don’t see them often enough but we are happy when we do. All our B’s get along and have good history together!

Jenna was our very first niece! She just had her first baby, Miss Skylar.

Annie was born a few months after our firstborn Josh. Our third niece from this family came several years later in 1991.

Jenna is married to Justin. Skylar celebrated her 4 month milestone while she was in Seattle for Katie and Andrew’s wedding.

My sister in law was enjoying all her grammy time since Skylar lives so far away from her. Dear’s brother and his youngest daughter were not able to come up for the wedding.

A little nap was in order before the reception!

Annie and her guy Jeff got to stay with friend’s who live in a floating house on Lake Union while they were in Seattle for the wedding. That really made for a fun trip for them to the wedding. They got into their friend’s little boat and motored across the lake to the wedding venue which was on the opposite shore. It was so much fun to see them pull up to the dock.

The Monday after the wedding was Miss Skylar’s 4 month anniversary so I will leave you with the best photo yet (that’s coming from a true Sounder’s fan!)

Fun times in Seattle with so many of our loved ones!

Sunday Serenade

“She” said “she” was done with the wedding shots. But “she” was wrong. I keep finding some more shots that I want to memorialize on my blog. Since I’ve skipped Alphabe-Thursday with Teacher Jenny for a while because of all the wedding hoopla I’ll chime in with the letter S today. I hope I don’t get in trouble for being truant! Our daughter’s wedding celebration was on Sunday March 11th so here’s my Sunday Serenade.

Her Knight in shining armor or with his shining crown. God let the sun shine on their day and Andrew’s Cover and Katie’s hair picked up the glow.

I like this one because it captured the whole wedding party with our two sons on the far right.

The happy parents of the bride, my husband and me. I like how the shot captured my brother in the background smiling, too. My brother Steve performed the ceremony.

My brother Tim and SIL Letty. My sister Vera’s kids, David and Debbee.

Nephew by marriage Ryan with our two sons Daniel and Joshua.

My sister got a photo of the photographer who is a good friend. It will be fun to see the scenes he captured…

We’re back to gloomy and rainy here in the Seattle area. Hoping for a few sun breaks here and there. Hope you noticed all the S’s that naturally occurred in my sentences!! Happy Thursday everyone! See ya soon!

We Love These People!

We’ll shout it from the rooftops…we are blessed with lots of love and friendship from family and friends! My nieces and DIL with my parents and each other.

Our sons with one of their uncles and cousin!

Nieces, Nephew, Brother, SIL, Son and DIL!

Niece with her cousin Hope, nephew Jackson and Brother in Law.

Jackson, the Ring Barrel’s, mother and father.

My sister Kathy with her granddaughter Avery, husband, and her daughter Michelle’s family.

Our sons and most of our nephews. One of our nephews is in Istanbul studying.

My sister Vera with her husband Nick and my brother Tim with his wife Letty in the top photo.

Our dear friends, sisters of the Maid of Honor, with our girls…

Good friends since Dan and Jamie became friends in grade school.

Sisters…

Katie and our son Josh with the Ring Barrel.

Cousins

Two of Dear’s nieces (one is missing) with our Sister in law holding her first granddaughter Skylar. We were so happy to have them all with us in the Northwest.

People
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world.
There’s children needing other children
And yet letting our grown up pride
Hide all the need inside
Acting more like children, than children.

Lovers are very special people
They’re the luckiest people in the world
With one person, one very special person
A feeling deep in your soul
That said you were half and now you’re whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People who need people
Are the luckiest people
In the world

So that’s a song that takes us way back but even further back are TRUE words from God’s book.

Above all, continue to love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.

I Peter 4:8.

Flower Girl & Ring Barrel

My niece Hope coined a new name for a Ring Bearer and we’re sticking with it. Here are some adorable photos of the children at Katie and Andrew’s wedding which include Hope, the flower girl and Jackson the “Ring Barrel” or Ring Bearer.

Practicing…with our Texas boots on.

Our third sweetheart is Jackson’s little sister Avery!

My parents with Hope their granddaughter and Jackson their Great Grandson.

Beside the flower girl and ring barrel the wedding party included Katy K. a friend since junior high, Katie’s brother Daniel, Katie’s lifelong friend Jamie (Maid of Honor), Katie and Andrew, Kristen a friend from church growing up, Katie’s brother Josh, and Andrew’s Best Man Schaub who flew in from North Carolina for the honors. The flower girl flew in from Texas and the Ring Barrel flew up from California.

Later I’ll be sharing the little ones dancing the night away. This is my 7th wedding post and there are many more to share.

I’m linking up with Mary for Mosaic Monday.