Tag Archives: Family

FFF ~ Cornucopia

My life has been filled to the brim, a type of cornucopia…

cor·nu·co·pi·a [kawr-nuh-koh-pee-uh, -nyuh-]

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a horn containing food, drink, etc., in endless supply, said to have been a horn of the goat Amalthaea.
2. a representation of this horn, used as a symbol of abundance.
3. an abundant, overflowing supply.
4. a horn-shaped or conical receptacle or ornament.
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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story helps us join together in highlighting our blessings (favorites) from this past week. I was missing in action last week so my favorites are from the last couple of weeks.
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My horn of plenty has been filled with family, friends, food, travel, and good fellowship.
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1. I traveled to Sacramento for my friend Kathy’s memorial service and was blessed with time with loved ones and new friends. We cried, laughed, remembered, and ate good food together. I did some homework before I left for Sacramento because I knew I’d be on my own for a few meals. I was pleased with the spots I found online and that I could find them navigating by myself in the rental car.
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2. We’ve been blessed with free hotel stays because of previous paid hotel stays. This really has come in handy. Because of a business trip earlier in the year I was able to get my hotel room in Sacramento for free. For an upcoming  trip in North Carolina our son Dan is sharing his points to give us 5 free nights. Since my daughter and I have to travel on the Monday after Thanksgiving which is costing a fortune, getting the free hotel nights lightens the blow!
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3. Last Friday I was traveling to Canada and that’s why I missed FFF. The Mennonite Girls were participating at the West Coast Women’s Show in the Winks booth and on the Kitchen stage. I was blessed again and again the two days I was there. Anneliese shared her home and kitchen with me…such a blessing. Wendy from Winks gave us a lovely spot to sign books. We were well received by the ladies that paid for the show and watched our kitchen stage presentations.
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4. When I got home from Canada my family room was full of family! Our son from across the mountains traveled to spend a few days with us. We had lots of good times together eating some of our favorite foods and enjoying each others company.
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5. Our daughter Katie got the “phone call” telling her when she needed to be in North Carolina to sign for her and Andrew’s housing. After we all freaked out for several hours we made our travel arrangements and were able to breathe again and relax in knowing that God is always there helping us through the big and small things in our lives. It was a “reality” moment making it clear that soon our nest will really be empty. All the wrap up stuff before Katie leaves is happening. Dear and Katie had a few dancing lessons for the Father and Bride dance. They practiced in our family room last night and I totally teared up. Oye! Life marches on…
I want to be perfectly honest here and let you all know that there was a lot of freaking out stressful moments before God’s calm hit our hearts last Thursday in hearing the “let’s go to North Carolina news!” Thankfully the panic lasted just a couple hours!
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Hope you had a week of knowing you are loved by God and He has his eye on you… “His eye is on the Sparrow and I know he watches me”

West Coast Women’s Show

On Friday I traveled North to British Columbia to meet up with some of the Mennonite Girls for the West Coast Women’s Show. Anneliese offered me a room for the night so I headed to her house after I crossed the border. She showed me to my comfortable quarters for the night where I changed into my show clothes and we headed to Tradex next to the Abbotsford Airport.

The Mennonite Girls Can Cook authors were invited to be a part of the Winks’ booth at the West Coast Women’s Show in Abbotsford, B.C. Wendy the owner of Winks has a very generous approach to her business and her customers. Besides all her fabulous wares she decided to feature our book. We divided up the time to be at the booth between the girls that were available this weekend. Anneliese and I were on duty from 5 till 10 P.M. on Friday night.

Saturday we were on again from 10:00 A.M. till Noon. We met a lot of great ladies throughout the show and we signed a lot of books.

Part of our time there was spent on the cooking stage. We had 2 presentations. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. At noon on Saturday we headed to the kitchen stage to prep before our presentation.

We were happy to see a lot of friendly faces in the crowd.

Judy, Lovella, Anneliese, Julie, Marg and I were part of the kitchen crew on Saturday. We made Anneliese’s Waffles with Vanilla Custard Sauce and Mixed Berry topping. We also made Judy’s Ham and Egg cups. Chef Dez introduced us and joined us on stage.

After we were done I headed back home to the U.S.A. I drove for two hours in pouring rain. It was wonderful to finally pull into my garage and even better to walk into my family room to see our son Dan. He lives 6 hours away and I hadn’t seen him for several months. We all went out for dinner and came home again for some Rock Band and then we watched the Sounders Soccer Team play their last season game against Chivas on T.V.

Dear, Me, Dan, Katie, Laura, and Josh. (The only family member not in this photo is Andrew who is serving in Afghanistan right now)

It made me smile to see that Dan has really acclimated to his new surroundings out in the country. He’s really enjoying riding horses out into the wilderness and now he’s wearing these…

So another weekend filled to the brim with friends and family. Life is rich. How’s life treating you?

FFF ~ Goodbye September!

Gratitude is a very good thing. Every Friday we join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story in sharing 5 good things from our past week. Wow can you believe we are already saying goodbye to September?!

A good friend died this past Sunday. Why would I share that in my 5 good things? I’m so thankful to God that I got to know Kathy and that I learned so much from her struggles and her attitude. She knew she was going home and would be with her Savior. Her husband wrote a beautiful tribute to her on Kathy’s blog that you can read here.

As you can see from the photo above we have had some beautiful sunny days this week after some cloudy rainy days. It was nice to get out and enjoy the weather with my camera.

God worked out timing for me to be able to be part of a lot of important events in October including Kathy’s memorial service in Sacramento.

Completed projects around the house.

We decided instead of just me and Katie going to North Carolina to get her settled in base housing before Andrew returns from Afghanistan that Dear would travel with us, too. It will be great to have a man along with us while we get some basics set up for Andrew’s return.

October is as full as a pumpkin for me. How’s your October shaping up? Hope to come around soon and see what you are up to.

Count It All Joy…

My friend Kathy B. from Count it all Joy

Kathy B. began her last struggle with her illness on August 2nd.

Since August 2nd many emails and texts have been  going back and forth among friends and family who could not stand watch at the hospital or be with her when she was released to Hospice care in her home. Here is one from Kathy’s sister in law.

“It is truly a blessing to see the many friends who have rallied around Kathy and Bill and who have bathed them in prayer and love. Kathy’s battle is continuing to be epic in her strength during this long illness. She has had this cancer for over 28 years and is the worldwide longest survivor of this form of ugly cancer. My sister-in-law has used this sickness to grow into a “woman after God’s own heart”.  Her witness is evident in the testimony of all the people who have been visiting and posting messages. Our lives have been richly blessed by her strength in her weakness.”
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Kathy survived her hospital and I.C.U. experience regaining consciousness and being able to be taken off the respirator. She was released for hospice care at home where she was able to communicate and enjoy her own home surrounded by the comforts familiar to her. She helped plan her funeral service and was miraculously able to get out of her bed and enjoy going outside to her garden. The beginning of Fall brought more hurdles for Kathy as her lungs filled with fluids and she had difficulty breathing. Her “Cute Boy” and my dear friend Jeanie were at her side while she struggled through her last hours. She went from the arms of her “Cute Boy” to the arms of Jesus early on Sunday September 25th.

I Am Standing on the Sea Shore

I am standing on the sea shore,
A ship sails in the morning breeze and starts for the ocean.
She is an object of beauty and I stand watching her
Till at last she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says:
“She is gone.”


Gone! Where?
Gone from my sight – that is all.
She is just as large in the masts, hull and spars as she was when I saw her
And just as able to bear her load of living freight to its destination.
The diminished size and total loss of sight is in me,
not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says,
“She is gone”,
There are others who are watching her coming, and other voices take up a glad shout:
“There she comes”
– an that is dying.

    
Bishop Brent
1862 – 1926

Her sister Jeanie married my cousin Jim. Jeanie and Kathy started a blog together called The Matson Sisters – becoming our Mother. I took this photo of Jeanie and Kathy from that blog.

Kathy and Jeanie lived a few hours from each other. They talked everyday on the phone and each morning Kathy would pick a hymn for them to sing together.

Before blogging I only knew Kathy as “Jeanie’s sister”. Over the years we’d see each other at a major family function here and there. After Kathy started her blog “Count it all Joy” and I had my blog we became real good bloggy buddies. I grew to love her and appreciate her just as much as I did my dear friend Jeanie. I thank God that our blogs brought us together in a more intimate way. I learned a lot from Kathy. I got to see her in person at the weddings of her nephews, my cousin’s sons. Two of the photos above are from Ben and Kristin’s wedding. I said on facebook after Kathy went into I.C.U. that when I was with Kathy I felt like I had seen Jesus. Those who suffer much reflect Him more. I’m going to miss my dear bloggy friend Kathy B. and I look forward to seeing her again in heaven.

I stole this photo of Kathy with her Cute Boy from Kathy’s blog…

Kathy B.! I’m looking forward to sitting at the Banqueting Table in heaven with you. Love you dearly…I’ll see you later.

FFF ~ Lazy Days of Summer

It’s time to visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share 5 favorite things from the past week. A good time to reflect on good things in the midst of troubled times around the globe.

1. Laura, Katie and I had a great afternoon at the Sounders soccer game last Saturday. It was good to catch up on what had been going on in our lives.

2. I had to give myself a pat on the back for harvesting the apples off our tree to make some applesauce that I’ll be able to use over the next year for some of our favorite recipes.

3. I’ve also been picking, using and freezing our great harvest of blueberries. I’ve made a couple blueberry dishes in the last week including Blueberry Clafouti.

4. My daughter Katie and I finally took a walk on the river trail. We both needed the exercise and it was a great accomplishment for the week.

5. Enjoying our sweet peas, hydrangea, and lavender blooms in flower arrangements in the home. Lovely!

6. We are finally enjoying sunny dry days that make it seem more like summer here in the Pacific Northwest. This has been a nice relief.

Are you still enjoying your Summer or are you ready for Fall?

Our God Cares for His Children…

My dear friend from Count it all Joy and The Matson Sisters has been having the struggle of her life this past week. Some of you may have visited her blog. She’s been in I.C.U. on a ventilator and unconscious. Kathy B. is my cousin Jim’s sister in law, my good college friend Jeanie’s sister. I introduced Jim and Jeanie to each other in college and they got married!  We’ve had a wonderful friendship over the years and through blogging Kathy B. has become my dear friend. Kathy B. has struggled with her form of cancer for 28 years. Our family and friends have been praying for consciousness and for Bill and Jeanie to be able to communicate with Kathy. We received amazing news on how God has been answering our prayers and Kathy regained consciousness and has been able to speak and give input on her care.  She was released from I.C.U. today. She will be released soon from the hospital to hospice care. We love you Kathy B. and thank God for your life and the impact you have had on ours! May God continue to prepare you and all of us for what he has for us…

Bag-O-Rama Jamboree ~ Dizzyland

My cousin coined our week of family activities in Southern California as the Bag-O-Rama Jamboree. On Thursday 15 of us descended on Disneyland.

My niece Michelle with her daughter Little Miss Avery.

My brother Leonard and his wife Mandy as we trekked down Main St. to Cinderella’s Castle.

Michelle, Miss Avery and Auntie Vera.

Little Miss Avery watching the Princesses.

In line for It’s a Small World!

My favorite Little Miss Avery Face of the day!

Jack and Hope

 

Nana, Daddy, Little Miss Hope, and Katie…

Lana and Leonard celebrating their birthday early at Disneyland.

A fuzzy night time photo of all 15 of us!

I can’t believe I lasted till the wonderful fireworks show was over. I was very tired but happy to have a great day with family at “it made me Dizzyland”….

Photobucket is still holding many of my photos hostage…

Showers of Blessings…

My mom (Baba) and Katie

My sister-in-law from Dallas with mom.

Niece Melissa with Katie

Sisters by marriage, Katie and Laura. The sweetest sister Katie could ever ask for.

The nieces with Katie and Laura. We are missing 5 nieces in this photo.

My cousin Kathy (Katrina), my mom and my sister Kathy.

My sisters Kathy and Vera flanking my sister-in-laws Mandy and Letty.

Katie with our dear lifelong friend Alice.

My cousin Valia with her daughter Michelle.

Somebody told a great story here. I love the reaction. If I had to guess I’d say my sister Lana is the culprit!

The oldest to youngest sister photo. Kathy, Vera, Ellen, and Lana.

My sister Kathy gave a short devotional about being a married woman. She’s a great teacher!

My mother gave Katie some heirloom linens and other gifts.

Katie got everyone laughing when she whipped out her pocket knife to cut away wrappings. And I do mean whipped as in whipped it open in the air.

These are shoes Katie hung on to from her Grandmother Verna. Verna lived with us when Katie was little and they had a very special bond.

Melissa and Lana…partners in crime.

Michelle and Deb Deb taking a breather…

The girls frosted an all white cupcake for Katie.

My sister Kathy with her two daughters.

My Sister-in-law Christina and our niece Kacie with Katie.

Katie and me with our friends Alice and Svetlana.

The shower committee at the end of the night!…Just kidding….

It was such a blessing to be able to have so many of our family members and friends all together in one place for this event. Thank you all for coming.

A special thank you to Michelle for letting me use some of her photos from the shower. Thank you to all my family members who worked hard to pull it all together. We love you and appreciate you!

Katie’s Wedding Shower Preparations…

There are so many photos of Katie’s shower that I’m breaking them down into categories. The first set I’ll be sharing are the preparations and decorating for the fun event. My nieces and sister Lana were the official shower planners.

My niece Debbee and Melissa baked the cupcakes and made the icing for them.

Debbee and Melissa had the flower decorating technique down for the cupcakes and showed Laura, Michelle and Katie the method and everyone chipped in to get all the cupcakes decorated.

They used the Wilton Tip #104 for these flowers. It’s a petal tip.

The colors for the shower and Katie and Andrew’s wedding are purple, silver and cream.

My niece Michelle took this photo and the one above it…

My sister Lana provided the salads and the beautiful flowers.

Thank you to Michelle for these two photos of Katie at the table, too.

My mom, Katie’s Baba, made the meat and cabbage pirog.

We had a fun afternoon preparing for the shower. The shoes Katie is wearing were her grandmother Verna’s.

Tomorrow I’ll show more photos of friends and family who attended the shower. Hope your day is going well. We have sunshine and clear, clear, blue skies here in the Seattle area. We’ll be barbecuing dinner tonight!

Give Thanks ~

Give Thanks

Give thanks
With a grateful heart
Give thanks
To the Holy One
Give thanks
Because He’s given
Jesus Christ His Son

Give thanks
With a grateful heart
Give thanks
To the Holy One
Give thanks
Because He’s given
Jesus Christ His Son

And now let the weak
Say “I am strong”
Let the poor say
“I am rich”
Because of what the Lord
Has done for us

This is one of the songs we all sang at Katie’s shower last week in California. We also sang a couple songs in Russian. A beautiful celebration of what the Lord has done for us…