Everything Nice Five…

1. For my Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice Friday post I’ll start with this Pumpkin Spice Cake that’s easy to make. I posted it on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog this week and you can click HERE to get the recipe.

In tandem with my cake above is this collage. Do you have a Jiffi-Sift? We’ve never given ours a name but everyone in the family knows what to grab when you want to lightly dust powdered sugar on anything like French Toast and Spice Cake. I have a post about my Tupperware Jiffi-Sift here. Some of you call powdered sugar icing sugar.

2. On a nice day it’s good to take a little drive to see something different from your regular views. This was taken from the car while we traveled on Highway 9 north past Snohomish. That’s Mount Baker covered with snow and just beyond are our Canadian neighbors.

3. Never stop singing! That’s my motto amongst a few others. This is our little girl (sweet and sassy) singing at her wedding. Photo credit to Jeremy Leffel.

4. Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice that’s what little girls are made of. Continuing on with my Friday theme this week I’m sharing this news again because it’s worthy of repeating. We are grandparents for the first time and our granddaughter should be born sometime in late March or early April if she decides to be late. We are praying for a healthy babe and uncomplicated delivery.

5. And here is this next photo my sister took of my dear old pop who is 93 and is carrying on. Still enjoying his recliner and making jigsaw puzzles. When I call him he says “I’m getting weaker, but I’m okay dochenka”. Dochenka is an endearing word for daughter in Russian. Then he always asks us to pray for him.

Thankful for these nice things in my life: Cake and other sweet treats, views to enjoy, daughters that delight, new life to anticipate with joy, old Pop to cherish.

What are some of your favorite things that you are thankful for?

Linking up to Friday’s Fave Five with Susanne and Foodie Friday and Everything Else at Rattlebridge Farm.

Andrew and Katie

Today is our Katie and Andrew’s 3rd wedding anniversary. He is in Afghanistan and she is in the Seattle area. Quite far apart but close in heart.

Katie was trying to calculate how many days they’ve actually been together in these 3 short years. They’ve spent a lot of days apart because of Andrew’s service in the Marines. That’s the way it is and that’s what they signed up for. It’s good to understand that going in and then it’s good to have the support of God, family and friends to get you through.

Happy Anniversary you two. May God bring Andrew home safe and may he bless you with many years of growing together in love for each other and for God who is the architect of marriage.

HT: Jeremy Leffel Photography

I Will Never Forget…

I will never forget this day. Where I was, what I did, who I talked to. My TV was still in my living room in Washington in 2001. I sat on the edge of an ottoman in shock. I started dialing, first my husband, then my married son and his wife, (they were married 2 weeks before 9/11. I woke my 2 kids that were still at home. That day seemed like it would never end. Called my SIL to find out if she’d heard anything from my niece who was working in Manhattan. My niece was in route to Manhattan, no one at work had seen her yet. She wasn’t a casualty that day. She made it. She had to turn around and try to get home again. It took her over 6 hours to get home. Small price to pay compared to so many…

Praying that God will continue to lead and direct our leaders in how best to protect the people they are called to serve. Praying that God will protect us from evil. Also praying that God will build us up to be able to persevere and endure whatever suffering comes our way.

And now all these years later we have our dear Son in Law who will be deployed very soon to Afghanistan for his second time. We pray that God will protect him and all of the Bravo Company.

Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) and (The Message)

The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

and from the Message Version…

God bless you and keep you,

²⁵God smile on you and gift you,

²⁶God look you full in the face
and make you prosper.

Photo credit: Jeremy Leffel Photography

Thank you to all who serve and protect including our Military, Border Patrol, Police, Firemen, Coast Guard!

I Have a Song That Jesus Gave Me ~ Hymn

I Have a Song That Jesus Gave Me

I have a song that Jesus gave me,
It was sent from Heav’n above;
There never was a sweeter melody,
’Tis the melody of love.

Refrain

In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody with Heaven’s harmony;
In my heart there rings a melody,
There rings a melody of love.

I love the Christ who died on Calv’ry,
For He washed my sins away;
He put within my heart a melody,
And I know it’s there to stay.

Refrain

’Twill be my endless theme in glory,
With the angels I will sing;
’Twill be a song with glorious harmony,
When the courts of Heaven ring.

Refrain

Words: Elton M. Roth, 1924.

HT: Jeremy Leffel Photography

Married for 69 Years!

Their wedding was in Iran (Persia) in 1943.

Here’s what they’ve got to show for all their years together and what they cherish along with the love they have for God and each other.

Add 15 more to this number for the more accurate count of their legacy which continues to grow.

So raise your glasses and toast to my mom and pop for all these years that God has been faithful to them!

Second through fifth photos were all taken by Jeremy Leffel our photographer and good friend at Andrew and Katie’s wedding.

Moms at the Wedding!

For my special Mother’s Day edition for this weekend I’m posting photos that Jeremy Leffel took at Katie and Andrew’s wedding that include mothers. Have we mentioned how much we appreciate Jeremy and his photography?

My Mom

Andrew’s Mother and his sister.

Andrew’s dad and step mom.

My side of our extended family.

This is Dear’s side of the family.

Young moms, older moms, mothers in law, step moms, grandmothers, sisters, sisters in law, nieces, cousins, friends… moms. All important people in our lives.

We are getting a stretch of good weather here in the Pacific Northwest so I’m sure people will be out and about and getting caught up on their gardening. We are participating in a Free Them 5K against human trafficking on Saturday morning. Later in the day we will enjoy a meal with Josh and Laura and from there head to the Sounders soccer game. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Many Hands…

…make light work.

We got the professional photos from the wedding and I’m going to share them in a series. I want to acknowledge our photographer Jeremy Leffel. We’ve known for a few years that we would hire him for Katie’s wedding. When she became engaged we knew the date we chose would have to be a date that Jeremy was available. So the photos I’ll be sharing are all taken by him. We can’t recommend him enough to anyone needing a wedding photographer.

Here are some pre-wedding shots…

Our hairdresser Sherri was indispensable to us the morning of the wedding. If you can have the hairdresser come to your venue it really makes the whole pre wedding preparations more relaxed.