Tag Archives: Friends

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!

Happy New Year!

Considering the old and looking forward to the new, that’s how I’m ringing in the new year! I’m posting my Happy New Year greetings early and will see you all again in 2012!

Highlights of 2011!

Our son Josh opened his own Mortgage Office with his parent company in January and had an open house in February.

Katie and Andrew got married on March 11th in North Carolina before the Magistrate.

My 60th birthday celebrations in March were amazing with several well orchestrated surprises. I’ll never forget the fun and love I was showered with.

We had our first Sisters Weekend trip to Victoria, B.C. in April and we got to meet my new bloggy friend Pondside who treated us to a great tour of her island.

Our cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook was published in May. We had a celebration dinner at Lovella’s and book signings at Lepp Farm Market and Winks. I am so thankful that God brought these beautiful ladies into my life through blogging. Wow! Who could have foreseen this blessing…

Katie traveled to Florida to spend several days with Andrew before he was deployed to Afghanistan with the Marines later in May.

I traveled to Washington D.C. in May with Dear on a business trip and enjoyed seeing so many wonderful historical sites.

In June I started to get serious about dropping some weight so I’d be a happier person when shopping for the Mother of the Bride dress.

We got to meet another bloggy friend in July when Jill came to stay with us and Katie, Jill and I traveled to the Lavender festival in Sequim.

Katie and I traveled to Southern California the end of July and had many fun times with our extended family, including a Bridal shower for Katie.

In August Josh and Laura celebrated their 10 year anniversary in Hawaii with my niece and her husband who also were married in 2001.

In late August Dear and I spent a couple days in Oregon traveling along the coast and inland visiting Multnomah Falls. We stayed at Salishan Spa and  Bonneville Hot Springs.

Dan had the fun privilege of learning all about horses and horse back riding this summer. No surprise the horses really take to him. He even road a horse in his hometown parade.

In September we finally found our new church home and have been settling in at Northshore Baptist Church.

October was a very busy month with travels to Canada at the beginning of the month and the end of the month for book signings and cooking demonstrations at the Women’s show. I also traveled to Sacramento for a dear friends funeral.

In October we had the menu tasting for Katie and Andrew’s wedding. That was a very fun appointment tasting so many yummy dishes.

From March until October we enjoyed our season tickets for the Sounder’s Soccer Team! Another successful season, winning U.S. Cup for the 3rd time.

In November we had a Northwest Bridal Shower for Katie. It was so much fun to have so many old friends together again.

 Thanksgiving came early for our immediate family with everyone here but Andrew.

Our very first and oldest niece had her first little baby, a girl, in November! A miracle and a great joy!

We traveled with Katie to North Carolina to get her settled into her and Andrew’s military housing in early December.

Andrew arrived safely home from his deployment in Afghanistan on Christmas morning.

God filled our cups in 2011!

What I am looking forward to in 2012!

Celebrating Josh and Dan’s birthdays in January.

Gatherings with the Mennonite Girls in the New Year.

Meeting our new Grand Niece.

Katie and Andrew’s wedding on their one year anniversary in Seattle in March.

Our nephew Levi’s and Kristin’s wedding in May in Southern California.

A new roof on this old house.

Being open to any new adventures and lessons God has in store for us.

Psalm 34:8 (ESV)

  Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Psalm 34:8 ~The Message (MSG)

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

Blessings on you in 2012!

Before the Leftovers are Gone…

…I better share our Thanksgiving Day photos!

I was going to share photos of Andrew and Katie’s new home in North Carolina but I left my camera cord in the rental car downstairs and I’m too wiped out to head back down there to get it. Katie and I arrived safe and tired and muscle sore to Jacksonville on Tuesday. I’ll share more when I get my photos uploaded.

Even though we’ve moved on to Christmas joys I want share our photos from our Thanksgiving Time at our friend’s home with more than 50 people enjoying each other. We ate well, played games together, and ended the evening dancing off some of the calories!

On Wednesday Katie and I are looking forward to a relaxing morning before we do some more shopping for her new home. Hope all is well with you and yours!

And That’s A Wrap…

or…the rest of the story. These are Polaroids taken mostly by Jamie, Katie’s Maid of Honor, at the shower. Before I show the rest of the photos here’s what’s happening around here and we’ll title it Yes, it’s possible to accomplish anything while feeling like a Zombie…

Thanksgiving: We had a wonderful celebration at Dave and Jody’s house with about 50 or so people. Pictures coming some time in the future.

Black Friday: My sister Lana and I continued our tradition of going to Goodwill on Black Friday. We had no problem finding a parking spot and we got some really good bargains. Everything was 50% off. My best purchase was a Tumi computer backpack (when new $260) used for $25. I’ll be using it for travels to North Carolina on Monday. Lana bought a beautiful Tommy Bahama linen jacket with the tags still on it ($160) for $20.

Packing: After Goodwill Lana started the daunting task of trying to pack 6 suitcases with all of Katie’s clothes, coats, shoes, hats, scarves, gloves, makeup, jewelery, etc. etc. My sister is a master at packing. We were able to get those cases as close to 50# each as we could. We have one more suitcase to go that I can put some of my stuff in, too. One of the 6 cases also has Andrew’s civilian clothes.  Now we just have to figure out how Katie and I will be able to manage 7 large suitcases, 2 carry-ons, and 2 backpacks. I’ll be stuffing my pockets with cash to tip Porters!!

Mailing: Today we are mailing all Katie’s media to North Carolina. She doesn’t want to be without her favorite books 4 large boxes worth and her favorite DVD’s and CD’s 4 boxes worth.

Family: We are getting in as much family time as we can before Katie and I take off on Monday.

Cookbook: So much great cookbook news. If you’d like to enter to win a cookbook click on the link and leave a comment at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Lovella and Anneliese are demonstrating the Hazelnut Roll today at noon on Global T.V. in B.C.  If you live in B.C. tune in!

Offline: I’ll probably be scarce around here for a couple weeks. I’ll try to visit and see how you all are doing…

Myself and Lana showing our guests where the food is…hilarious.

Katie with her brother, Josh.

Katie with our Daughter in law’s mother and grandmother.

Girlfriends since forever…Katy K., Jamie, Katie, Kristen, and Heidi.

Blessings on all your preparations for the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

I’m looking forward to preparing a place in my home to honor the King of Glory when I get back from North Carolina!

Photos Shared…

The following photos from Katie’s bridal shower were taken by her long time friend Christie. Christie was one of Katie’s friends from our church here in Seattle that we attended for 20 years. Christie now lives in Alaska with her husband and 2 little girls. She was in Seattle visiting family just in time for Katie’s shower. What a fun treat it was to have all Katie’s Sunrise girlfriends together with her on this special day.

Kristin, Christie, and Heidi. Jamie is the 4th girlfriend from Sunrise and she’s taking the photo.  I’ll share more photos from the shower that Katie’s Maid of Honor Jamie took soon.

FFF ~ Thankful for…

It’s time to join Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for our favorites from this past week. So many things to be thankful for. Most likely this will be the last FFF I will be able to participate in till late December.

1. Just getting ready for our Thanksgiving meal which we are having early this year makes me thankful. My decorations are very minimal this year but it was good to clean up and to decorate. I love sitting and relaxing in my home when it is really clean and organized.

2. Our son Dan drove across the Cascades on Wednesday to spend a few days and to be here for our Thanksgiving meal. I’m thankful he made it across the pass safely when several cars were spinning out in the snowfall. Our son Josh drove over to see his brother and sister for the evening. I was sitting on the couch enjoying being with our 3 adult children enjoying each other. These times get fewer and farther between with their lives going in different directions.

3. Our daughter Katie is getting to the “oh my gosh I only have this many days before I move stage” and this makes her chatter. It’s been good to take care of lots of last minute stuff with her.

4. I’ve been cooking so much for crowds these days that Thanksgiving preparations seem like a breeze in my head so I’m enjoying the relaxation of this new feeling. My family does not want surprises on Thanksgiving but just want the traditional goodies. This makes for a very predictable and known cooking process…

5. One of the biggest blessings of this last week was planning, preparing, and enjoying our daughter Katie’s bridal shower last Saturday evening. It was so great to see so many old friends of ours and Katie’s. Katie was showered with love and gifts. Prayers on her and Andrew’s behalf were so precious. At the end of our evening the power went out. Thankfully we already had several candles lit and gathered up more to give us more light. My sister Lana walked people to their cars with a flashlight because it was so dark outside with no streetlights.

What is making you thankful this week?

Matryoshka Bridal Shower

On Saturday we had a Northwest Bridal Shower for Katie with a Matryoshka Theme.

The Bride Katie

Katie and Laura, sisters by marriage.

The color theme was purple, deep red, and gold.

I was so busy I forgot to take photos of all the other food. We had Savory Blintzes, a Quinoa taboulleh salad, orange-mango chicken salad, pumpkin praline trifle, and pumpkin spice cookies.

It was a fun reunion of friends who have touched Katie’s life over the years. Katie’s maid of honor, Jamie, led us in prayers for Andrew and Katie and she ended with a prayer of blessing on her friend. Such a wonderful dear time we had. Katie was showered with blessings and nice gifts. At the end of our evening the power went out so we rushed around lighting more candles. My sister Lana escorted all our guests to their cars with a flashlight!

I have to admit that I am wiped out today. We couldn’t clean up last night because we had no power so I went over to Lana’s this morning to gather my stuff and to help clean up. By the time I got there Lana had everything washed and ready to go so all I had to do was load up my car. Everything is put away in it’s place here at my house now and I’m just gonna sit around the rest of the day!

I’m linking up with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

The Story Continues…

Good Saturday Morning to you all. I’m up and busy today getting ready for a celebration.

Today we are having a Northwest Bridal shower for Katie at my sister Lana’s house. The we are my Daughter in Love Laura, Katie’s maid of honor Jamie,  my sister Lana and me. We will be getting together today to decorate and get ready for our guests. Our guests are friends who have helped to write Katie’s Story. Besides our Northwest biological family we have Katie’s lifelong church friends, school friends, work friends, and our extended family through marriage who have all played a part in Katie’s story. Katie’s dad and I are very grateful for the love and friendships that have shaped Katie’s life. Of course I’ll be sharing lots of photos in the next week or two of our celebration. Here’s some of what we are looking forward to today…

We are also serving 2 salads that Gluten Free and Vegetarians will enjoy.

If I’ve been absent in visiting and commenting you now know why. Busy baking and cooking and shopping for a new outfit to wear!

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.