See What He Will Do…

About two years ago the Billy Graham Association was asking for email stories of how Billy Graham’s Evangelical Outreach had touched our lives. I sent in the story of my Pop’s conversion. Previously to this request, when our daughter was at Wheaton College in Illinois we were able to visit the Billy Graham Museum on campus. Emotions came to the surface when I saw the photos from the Los Angeles Crusade at the Coliseum in 1963. I knew my dad and I were somewhere in that photo of the stadium filled to overflowing.

I sent in my story hoping that Billy would hear and know that I thanked God for his devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it impacted my family.

What a thrill to get this book in the mail this past month, skimming through and seeing my story about Pop published.

I can hardly wait to show my Mom and Pop the book…

My parents are soon turning 86 and 85.

FFF ~ Yes…It All Happened This Week!

Glory! Where do I begin…

Ground Hog Day was monumental in our lives… Why?

1. Dear put in for his retirement from his company and has 21 days left there…

2. We put our condo on the market.

3. My condo has never been cleaner ….ever…

Then on Wednesday…

4. We flew to Seattle to see our kids, especially to see Dan. Dear hadn’t seen him for 5-1/2 months, Katie and Laura  hadn’t seen him for 5 months and the last time Josh and I saw him was in November. We had a belated traditional Christmas Eve dinner Thursday night. Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Mashed potatoes and Creamed Corn. Good times together before Dan heads off again for several months. Friday night we’re having an Open House Party for friends and family to come and see Dan before he takes off on Saturday.

5. It’s good being home and knowing I’ll be a one home woman again soon. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Now to just figure out where to put 2 households worth of dishes!! Thankfully Dan will be setting up living quarters in Eastern Washington soon and he’ll be able to use lots of our condo goods!

There are people and things I’ll miss in Southern California and I’ve already had many a good cry in the shower over leaving certain people behind…more on that later.

6. Bonus! I’ll be posting soon about having one of my stories of my pop’s conversion published in a tribute to Billy Graham and his ministry…

Please visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to see more favorites or to join in… I probably will be late getting around to everyone because I’m cooking up a storm for an open house tonight.

The photo was taken at dawn on Thursday from my deck in Washington…

She’s Flying the Coop!

Flying north to spend some time with my mijas and mijos! I’ll be here, there, and everywhere so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to be on the computer. We’re having an Open House/Party for our son Dan on Friday night that I’ll be spending time preparing for. Dan departs on Saturday and then we’re having an out of town guest arrive on Saturday for a few days. We might have a Superbowl party at our house on Sunday. I’m looking forward to seeing that controversial commercial. Just be assured I haven’t disappeared off the face of the blogisphere. I’ll be back soon with lots of news to share.

 

FFF ~ Lots of Good News!

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story is the hostess of this great weekly carnival that encourages us to look back over the last week and list our 5 favorites.

There was lots of good news coming to us this week via the telephone and email.

1. Our dear little niece, Miss Hope, turned 2 on Monday. She called me (well her dad actually called me) on Monday to thank me for our present and card and to fill me in on the highlights of her party. She said “Expedition”, “cake”, “thank you” , “love you”. She and all her little guests got to go on an expedition to search for stickers with little flashlights. She had a Winnie the Pooh/Heffalump Party.

2. We heard of the engagement of my cousin Jim’s son Ben to Kristin. The photo of Jim and Jeanie was taken at their son Jeff’s wedding this last June. Hopefully we’ll be able to attend Ben’s wedding, too.

3. We got a phone call from our son Dan with the good news that he passed his Spanish course and will be headed to Seattle to spend a week at home in Washington before he’s gone for 10 months. Dear and I are flying home next Wednesday so we can spend some time with him. We are so looking forward to having the whole family all together for a meal or two.

4. We also got the news on Thursday that Dan’s best friend Jamie and his wife Sarly had a sweet baby girl at 8:00 P.M.  Jamie is in the picture with Laura, Josh, and Dan. It is really great that Dan will be home at just the right time to be able to see her. We have so appreciated God bringing Jamie’s family and our family together when Dan and Jamie became friends in 2nd grade. Congratulations to Jamie and Sarly and to the grandparents Beth and Dave!! We love you guys!

5. Dear and I had lunch at my mom and dad’s last Sunday along with my brother Tim and his wife Letty. We are so blessed to have parents that are faithful to God, to each other, and to all their children. My parents are 86 and 85. My father said that he has no regrets and is ready to die whenever God chooses to take them. Every time we talked about their funeral that afternoon my Father made it singular. I know this is probably weird for some of you to read but we’ve always been able to talk about death and funerals, etc. in my family. Anyway, I’ve always pictured my parents “going home” together. I think my Father does, too. They have been married for 66 years. He and my mother took care of their parents before they died and have cared for many widows and spinsters over the years who had no one to care for them. They have extended hospitality far and wide. They were missionaries to Russia in their old age. They have “run the race well”.

Psalm 40:5 (English Standard Version)

You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

 

FFF ~ Light In the Midst of Storms…

Time for a look back over the last week to choose some favorites. Click over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story to join in.

What a weird week here in Southern California. It always throws things off a bit when you start the week off with a holiday and then throw in rain and everything goes amuck. On Monday the U.S. celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

1. On Sunday I traveled across L.A. with storm clouds looming and threatening to spend some family time at my sister Kathy’s house. This is her Son-in-law Ryan with his new little daughter Avery, my grand niece. It was a fun time seeing family and meeting Ryan’s parents who were here from Michigan. My drive home was very slow due to rains and spin outs on the freeway. It was good to get home safe and sound.

2. Dear was away over the weekend and wasn’t arriving back home till Monday night. I decided to give myself a rare treat of an In-N-Out Burger. Yes it was yummy!

3. Knowing that Dear was in Seattle having some great Father-Daughter time over the weekend was a big favorite. He also was able to spend some time with Josh and Laura and deliver Josh’s birthday present. Both our son’s celebrated birthdays this past week…

4. Being able to stay at home during most of the storms and nursing my nasty cough that just wanted to hang on forever. Lots of tea with honey and lemon…

5. There was some light at the end of the day today, promising that the storms will soon pass. My cough has also diminished enough that I can sense healthier days ahead. It’s good to know that there is good in the midst of our struggles and hope at the end of the day, especially on that final day…

Hope all is well in your corner of the world…

 

Family Blues…

On Sunday I drove across Los Angeles to my sister’s house for a family gathering in honor of Avery and Jackson’s  grandparent’s from Michigan. Avery is my sister Kathy’s granddaughter and Jackson is Avery’s big brother. Jackson and Avery’s grandparents flew out to meet Avery and spend some time with both of them.

 

Is there any doubt that this is Avery’s father… Look at the shape of their eyes…

The great grandparents (my parents) were also there to enjoy the festivities.

My sister Kathy with Avery(Jackson and Avery’s nana), my sister Vera, MLou (Avery and Jackson’s grandmother from Michigan), and Ellen b.

It was so much fun to finally meet MLou in person. We have interacted with each other for a long time via my blog and Facebook.

Please visit Sally at Smiling Sally for more Blue Monday posts…

January is Very Significant…

…in our family! Both of our sons were born in January. Katie’s due date was in January, too, but she decided to come at the end of December. All three of our kids were born on a Friday.

Josh was born on January 19, 1979 at 7:34 a.m. weighing in at a solid 10 pounds!

Daniel was born on January 16, 1981 at 12:30 P.M. weighing in at 8 pounds 1-1/2 ounces.

Daniel loved to have a Choo Choo Train cake. I even made him one for an adult birthday of his. :0)

Our boys have always been good friends to each other and I thank God for that. Happy Birthday Josh and Dan. We’ll celebrate when we can all be together!

Other family birthdays in January include my brother Tim on the 22nd and our sweet niece Hope on the 25th!

 

24 Years Ago Today…

Katie surprised us with an early entry into this world…

Dear and I were so surprised to get our little girl after our two boys. Katie has added a wonderful dimension to our family and we thank God for her.

For her birthday bash this year some long time friends and family went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie and then came back to our house for a meal and evening of fun.

I do believe the festivities have come to an end around our house for a few days. Today I put away most of the Christmas decorations and got rid of our very dry tree. It feels good. Enjoy the last week of 2009 everyone!!

The Festivities Continue…

Get ready for photo overload. Today we are preparing for our daughter Katie’s 24th Birthday Bash!! Her actual birthday is tomorrow. In the meantime I’m posting lots of photos from our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Festivities. May God’s blessings continue…

Christmas Eve was quiet with just the 3 of us. We went to a Christmas Eve Candlelight service and shared our traditional meal together.

Christmas morning our tradition is to check out what Santa brought in our stockings, then move on to a great Swedish Pancake breakfast that Dear lovingly makes for us each year and then we exchange our gifts to each other. We missed you dearly Dan!!

 

Then our whole family heads to the Spiro’s for Christmas dinner. We met Dave and Jody 25 years ago when both our families lived in Ventura, California and we attended Bible Fellowship Church.

Dear and Dave

Our girls and Dave and Jody’s girls.

Grandma Mary the Matriarch of the Spiro Family. Isn’t she lovely at 80 something!!

Our dear friends Bob and Jan (Jan is one of my walking buddies and Bob is Dave’s brother) with their mom Mary.

Laura and Josh

Bridget and Laura

Katie, Josh, and Lucy

Laura, Katie, and Jamie

Katie and Josh

 

The Kid’s table…

Our hosts and Dear and me and our family minus Dan below…

The view of Puget Sound and the Olympics at Sunset…

Our family had a wonderful day from morning to night celebrating with family and friends the birth of our KING!