Tag Archives: Friday’s Fave Five

FFF ~ Fresno, Food, Fields

I was in Fresno last Friday with 3 of the Mennonite Girls so I didn’t participate in Friday’s Fave Five but I’m joining with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story this week with my favorites.

1. Traveling to my first MCC Relief Sale and spending time with generous people who donate their time, services, and goods for others.

2. When Dear picked me up at the airport on Sunday morning we decided to head up north for lunch in La Conner at a favorite restaurant of ours called Nell Thorn. The food was delicious and the drive gave us the opportunity to get caught up with news about each of our days apart.

3. After lunch we headed to the tulip fields and enjoyed a tiptoe through the tulips walk about the tulip fields. We don’t take for granted this amazing opportunity to visit these fields of wonder just an hour up the road. I’ll be sharing lots of tulip photos this next week.

4. We are getting a new roof  and rain gutters installed this week. It’s good to know we’ll be set for many years when the job is done.

5. To get away from the pounding noise I went out on a shopping adventure to find green and lavender dishes and accessories. It was a successful trip. I found plates and napkins at Goodwill and more plates and small cups at Crate and Barrel. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent time on a shopping trip like this. Having a chicken in the crock pot made the adventure quite relaxing since I didn’t have to be home early to make dinner.

I’ll leave you with another tulip photo. I hope to get around soon and see what y’all have been up to.

FFF ~ All About Easter…

What a great week starting off with a glorious Easter celebration. My 5 favorites are all about Easter.

1. Easter services at church. I love to see the little ones come all dolled up in their spring finery. I love to sing the wonderful Easter songs.

2. Flowers that bloom at Easter time are another favorite.

3. Russian Easter Bread with Sweet Cheese spread are two traditional things we always have at Easter.

4. Easter meals that we enjoy with loved ones.

5. That Jesus paid the penalty for me and opened up the door for me to have a relationship and new life in Him.

Anneliese, Judy, Lovella and I are all in one of our hotel rooms typing away on our computers. So classic. I’ll share more about Fresno next week. We hit the ground running tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Click over to Susanne’s to join in with your favorites.

FFF ~ Never a Dull Moment…

Another week with the chance to pause and look back and remember the good things in our lives. Thank you to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for hosting this event every Friday. My days have again been full.

We had a sermon on gratitude a couple Sundays ago and the pastor shared 2 Killers of gratitude. One killer is complaining and the other killer is comparing. I’ve been on the lookout for these two killers in my heart and mind.

Now to my 5 favorites…

1. Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine! When the sun shines in the Seattle area we enjoy it to the fullest. On Friday morning I walked the Sammamish River trail with a friend and we enjoyed the extra shot of Vitamin D!

2. Friday night I met up with Josh and Laura and we traveled to the Seattle Sounders Soccer game via Kerry Park where there are great views of Seattle. We were showing Flat Stanley what makes Seattle special. Have you experienced Flat Stanley? We took Flat Stanley to the game and we were so happy they won and it was a fun game.

3. Saturday I packed my Mennonite Girls Can Cook Apron and headed north to the Blaine Library for a presentation of our book and story. Lovella did a wonderful job of sharing our story. My friend Cindy who works in the children’s area of the library and her boss Debby baked goodies from our cookbook to serve to the participants at the seminar. It was a great time and we all had lunch together at the Blackberry Cafe after our time at the library.

4. On Monday I finally took the leap and joined the 21st century with a new phone and I’m in a new learning curve. I was even able to text my son. I laughed because it took me about 2 full minutes to type out 2 sentences and send them on their way. OYE!

5. Homemade spaghetti sauce. We had a lot of tomatoes leftover from our wedding weekend so I decided to make homemade tomato sauce. When it was finished I added some mild Italian sausage to the sauce and served it with pasta and some fresh basil. It was delicious.

Hope you all had a good week. Waiting to see if my friend and I can fit a walk in today between rain showers…

FFF ~ More From the Wedding…

It’s time to look back and share some favorites from our week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. I’m going back to Sunday March 11th. After helping Katie plan her wedding ceremony for almost a year it seems good to savor the actual event for longer than a week. I’ve been away from FFF for a few weeks because of the busyness of the final weeks leading up to the wedding. I’ve shared several posts and photos from the wedding already but just wanted to highlight some of my favorite things from the wedding.

1. It was great that both of Katie’s brothers were able to stand with Andrew along with Andrew’s best man at the wedding. Our son Daniel walked his grandmother and grandfather in to be seated.

2. Our son Josh walked me in…

3. This photo of Katie and her dad really catches their similar expression that makes me smile.

4. My brother Steve performed the wedding ceremony and did a fantastic job…

5. My father prayed a prayer of blessing over Katie and Andrew in Russian.

6. The Flower Girl and Ring Barrel my niece and grand nephew were charming. ( I’m cheating with 10 instead of 5 favorites)

7. The flowers and the table decor and the food were all fabulous!

8. The Cake Toppers that Katie painted…

9. Instead of throwing the bouquet and the garter Katie presented the bouquet to our good friend Lucy who is getting married in April and Andrew presented the garter to our nephew Levi who is getting married in May.

10. The Father Daughter Dance! Tear Jerker!

Thank you for putting up with my 10 favorites instead of 5 this week. I hope to get around soon and see what you all have been up to. We are having a nice dry day today that I hope lasts into the evening for the Sounders Soccer game.

FFF ~ Mucho Gusto!

A week filled with much pleasure.

It’s time to link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share your favorites from this past week!

Just so y’all know there were things that happened this week that did not bring pleasure at all but the good far outweighed the bad.

1. I walked twice last week. On Friday with two gals from my Bible Study group and on Saturday with my great walking buddy Jan and my sister Lana. When I got home from my Saturday walk Dear was ready with his level and hammer to put the artwork on the wall of our new guestroom (formerly Katie’s room) We accomplished a lot of little things that made a big difference.

2. While we were working I emptied out some things in the freezer and added them to chicken broth to make a “what’s in your freezer soup”. It was tasty and used up things that needed to be used before they got freezer burn. It was a great no fuss meal for the two of us while we were working on the house projects.

3. After church on Sunday (which was fabulous) we met Josh and Laura at a new BBQ restaurant. The food was really good and we really enjoyed the owners of the restaurant. We took our time eating and getting caught up with Josh and Laura. You don’t have to take our word for it…anyone that knows Josh and Laura would tell you that they are a gift from God to their friends and family.

4. After Valentine’s Day sales of candy and other goodies! How great is it that I could buy a dozen roses for $5.00 instead of $24.99. I bought those sweet little cupcakes for $1.49 and they were fresh and yummy. We served them to our small group that meets at our house on Thursday nights.

5. Small Group: A group of people who get together regularly to encourage each other and grow and learn with each other. Our small group is composed of 10 very different individuals. A group of people we would never have hand picked to be in a group with but a group that surprises us in how much we have come together in a short amount of time. It really can only be explained by the fact that God brought us together and we see how God is working in each life and how he has drawn us together with care and love for each other. God is good.

Just had to share the yucky thing that happened this past week, too. On Monday night I was running around all afternoon so I decided to bring Chinese take out home for dinner. Unfortunately I got food poisoning and had a really rough time for part of the night. What a relief when the pain stopped and I could go to sleep again. I was thankful it wasn’t the stomach flu and when the poisoned food left me so did all the symptoms.

Hope you all had a good week.

23 Days till the Wedding!!

FFF ~ Food, Friends, Fun

Friday is here and it’s time to join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share our favorites from this past week.

Uno ~ Oh my what is it about clean windows that make me happy. Makes me want to stop and sing “I can see clearly now, the rain is gone…” Dear washed the windows in our new spare room (formerly Katie’s room). I want to sing every time I walk in there. Since it is the new office, too, and I was going to see the Tax man this week, I had a lot of time in there enjoying the clear views.

Dos ~ A good long walk with one of my walking buddies. We had a stretch of beautiful dry days up here in the Pacific Northwest and that made the walk even more pleasant.

Tres ~ Experimenting with foccacia bread to make a pizza sandwich. It was interesting flipping it to get both sides of the bread nicely baked. Even though the experiment isn’t something I’d be too keen on trying again it was real tasty and satisfying as a meal! The thing we didn’t like was how hard it was to eat without all the innerds squirting out.

Cuatro ~ On Sunday and the reason for all my Spanish numbering this week we were invited to a party by our favorite waitress at the Mexican restaurant we frequent. We were honored that she’d even think to invite us and more honored when we got to the party and we were the only fluent English speaking people there except for her 20 year old son. Everyone made sure we were comfortable and had enough to eat and drink. Her son kept us in the loop explaining who everyone was. Her parents are visiting from Mexico for 2 months and one of her nieces was being baptized that day so this was a party in honor of that occasion. A Mariachi band came later and that’s when all the dancing and singing started. Such suave dancing with twirls and steps and turns with smooth transitions. It was kind of like watching dancing with the stars.

Cinco ~ Decorating a little for Valentine’s Day and  Chocolate Fondue! If you’d like to see the recipe hop over to Mennontie Girls Can Cook! It’s a good treat to serve for Valentine’s Day!

Our weekend looks pretty free and laid back. Hope your weekend is relaxing and rejuvenating!

FFF ~ Full, Fuller, Fullness…

Time to get together and think on the good things from this past week. I’m joining in with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story our lovely hostess for Friday’s Fave Five.

1. Last Friday we were traveling home from San Diego but before we left I had a nice walk along the waterfront. It was good to walk in the sunshine and see new things.

2. On Sunday we became members of our church. It is a good step for us. Here’s a photo from our current sermon series. The series is called Desperate Days.

3. On Monday I traveled to Canada to get together with the MGCC girls to celebrate a special birthday for two of our girls! What a wonderful time we had at Harrison Hot Springs.

4. After another busy day on Tuesday I had a totally free day on Wednesday. I love days like that mixed in with my busy days. Sleeping in with no time crunch schedule is so peaceful. Being able to enjoy my coffee while reading and watching the sun rise and little birds coming to the feeder is a good way for me to start the day. Don’t worry y’all, the feeder is full again!!

5. We started up our small group again after our holiday break and it’s meeting at our house. It was good to get re-connected.

Hope you have time to consider the good things from your past week. I hope to get around and see what your favorites were. Are you throwing a Super Bowl party or going to one?

Happy to Say…

…our power never went out and is still on during this latest tree limb snapping storm! I’m linking up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story with my favorite blessings of the week!

1. Having all our kids together under our roof for a few days celebrating birthdays and just being together.

2. Dan getting back over Snoqualmie Pass safe and sound before the storms hit. We really have been socked with some snow and ice!

3. Katie and Andrew making it from Seattle to Salt Lake City safely on snowy and icy roads. It took them 2 days to get there. They were so happy whenever they hit some dry miles on the highway.

4. The fact that Dear was able to work from home this week instead of driving the treacherous roads off our hill to the park and ride.

5. So thankful to God for all our kids and kids in law who get along so well and love each other. Priceless!

We are pretty sure we have officially hit the foot mark for our snow levels. This is the most snow we’ve ever experienced at this old house!

I’ll post the rest of my snow shots tomorrow.

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

FFF ~ Moving Forward…

Oh so much to be thankful for. It’s nice to link up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share our favorite blessings of the past week.

1. With the help of our DIL’s grandmother we were able to book this space for the rehearsal dinner for Katie and Andrew’s wedding. It really is the right place at the right price for our needs. Yippee!

2. After meeting my DIL and her grandmother at the clubhouse we came home just before the new queen mattress set was brought in by Josh and Dear. Laura and I put all the linens on the bed and then we had lunch with my sister Lana and  BIL Steve joining us. The bedroom is still in transition and once it’s complete I’ll post some before and after photos.

3. On Sunday we had a new sermon series start at church and on Tuesday our Women’s Bible Study resumed.

4. I shocked myself by taking the plunge and finally trying on Mother of the Bride dresses. I picked two dresses and 2 pairs of shoes and I’ll have the girls give me their opinions on which if any of the two I should choose.

So…do you think I should keep the dress that goes with the black shoes or the dress that goes with the silver shoes?

5. Thursday night our small group from church joined other volunteers to cook a meal and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take downtown to a location under the interstate where meals are served Monday thru Thursday nights to anyone who shows up there. We made a taco rice dish with salads, bread and dessert to serve along with coffee, hot chocolate, water and tea. The taco rice dish stayed nice and hot for the whole duration of serving. We served at least 150 people and they were very appreciative and pleasant. Several young men looked like they could have been my sons…  It was a good time for all of us. The ministry is called The Lord’s Table.

I’m getting a late start this morning. Because we didn’t start serving food till after 8 P.M. last night I got home late and got into bed way later than usual. I was surprised when the phone woke me up at 8:23 A.M. Sheesh! The sun is shining bright with clear skies so we are in for a nice chilly day. Hope you all have a nice weekend.

FFF ~ Back To It!

I’ve been away for awhile but it’s time again to get back to Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. It’s always good to look back and see the good things in your life.

1. It was good to get back to somewhat of a routine.

2. Dear and I rearranged some furniture and are enjoying a “new look”.

3. In the process of rearranging we purged some items that we don’t need and just got in the way. January is a great month to purge. Hopefully I can purge some of those holiday pounds, too.

4. We have enjoyed some wonderful sunrises.

5. Phone conversations with my daughter and daughter in law.

It’s January and for us we are still in celebration mode as both our sons were born in January. We are already looking forward to a birthday meal together. How’s January going for you?